


Electric Splash

by Zehntacles



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Erotica, F/M, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-16
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2017-11-12 07:10:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 99,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/488105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zehntacles/pseuds/Zehntacles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <img/>
</p><p> </p><p>Misty makes a visit to the Sinnoh region that causes a chance meeting between her and another trainer. The result tests her resolve and desire to see if she can decide if this is love or a fleeting feeling.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Spark

**Author's Note:**

> This is a non-profit fanfiction created for entertainment purposes only. I do not own any of the characters presented within this story nor did I profit from this work. Pokemon is owned by Nintendo and Gamefreak. Please support the official release.
> 
> Cover art by the talented [NoPenNameGirl](http://nopennamegirl.deviantart.com/)

With the various regions and Pokemon leagues that had opened over each one it was only a matter of time before they would begin to reach out to each other. The idea of the gym leaders coming together to discuss their techniques, trade and essentially "talk shop" was an appealing idea to everyone involved. Before long the different leagues began to organize get-togethers for the gym leaders in the regions to visit one another and become friends and get to know each other. At least that was the idea... however even the best laid plans can have their hiccups and while it was an overall success in Misty's opinion it had lead to the only conversation she'd ever had about Water-Type Pokemon that she wanted to escape.

The gym leaders of Sinnoh had made the offer to invite a foreign region to their land to host a party for the leaders to all mingle. Kanto being the first to accept, everyone was able to either find suitable substitutes for their gyms or went on temporary vacations while out of the region. Misty had accepted the invitation as Cerulean City's representative over her sisters as she had been wanting to travel again since her days on the road had been behind her. Initially excited at the idea of meeting new gym leaders, her perceptions came down somewhere about twenty minutes ago during her conversation with Wake... I mean Crasher Wake.

He'd seemed nice enough at first. He was open, friendly and had a warm personality. Best of all he trained water Pokemon in the same manner that she did back home and discussing their different tactics and personal favorite Pokemon to use had been an exciting conversation for her. Somewhere during their discussion it had somehow swung to pro-wrestling, possibly her own fault for asking about his outfit. Misty had wanted to be casual but not seem out of place so she had worn her red swimsuit with the yellow shorts and jacket over top. It was functional, not too showy and most importantly it made her feel cute. So when she wanted to know why he dressed like a luchadore wrestler well... he answered that he was indeed a luchadore wrestler. From there the flow didn't stop; he went on about his matches and how he donated all his winnings to the under privileged and that he was the number one wrestler in all of Sinnoh. It was all well and good but frankly it was wearing on her nerves a bit and his energy reminded her of Lt. Surge, who she thought would be a much better match for her fellow Water-Type trainer.

Looking for an exit Misty observed the room seeing if she could find any reason to escape her current prison of polite conversation. Scanning the room she managed to find a large purple beacon of a woman talking to... Brock! Oh sweet, squinty-eyed, perfect excuse Brock. When she came back to Wake... I mean Crasher Wake, he was currently going on about a wrestling match that he'd managed to pull some kind of amazing victory in at the last moment or something. She hadn't really been listening but managed to motion with her hand enough to get his attention. "Sorry to stop you but I just noticed my friend over there." She made a little wave to Brock's general direction where he seemed to actually be having a polite conversation with a pretty woman for once. "And I just remembered that he needed me for something. Sorry about this but..."

"Not at all, not at all little one!" Wake smiled and nodded reassuringly. "After all taking care of one's friends is all a part of being the leader of a gym. We all must set a good example! Don't let me keep you here!" Misty nodded in thanks feeling a bit ashamed. He'd bought into her excuse so easily that she was felt guilty for fooling him. Giving him a polite nod of her head she walked through the ball room over to where Brock was probably enjoying himself. The room itself wasn't that large but accommodated them all comfortably. The meeting place had been set up at the city of Sunyshore's Gym and overall she'd found it impressive. It was a clean town with lots of shops and vibrant energy. On top of that it seemed like it was really well taken care of with how automated all the doors, escalators and even sidewalks were. Plus it was by the ocean, nothing could have made it better.

Finally catching up to where Brock was located she saw he was talking to both the purple haired woman with a very vibrant appearance of her own and Erika. Almost by instinct Misty's hand reached up to pull at his ear, however she managed to control herself and drop it onto his shoulder instead. He was being a good boy for how girl obsessed he usually was, she didn't want to do anything embarrassing to him. "Hey Brock, sorry to interrupt." She put on her best smile as he turned with a little bit of surprise to her.

"Oh, hey Misty, enjoying the party?" Brock gave her a content smile from his position with the two ladies. Seemed he was doing well in keeping their attention focused on him and he was eating it up. "Not sure if you got to meet Fantina before. She was telling me and Erika about her Super Contests back in her home town." Fantina gave Misty and greeting that actually seemed more proper than was probably necessary. Misty felt a need to give her a little bow in return before grabbing Brock's arm, much to his surprise.

"Hey Brock, remember that thing we talked about on the plane ride over?" Brock had a look on his face like he'd just been abandoned in the middle of nowhere. Naturally she was making this up on the fly and poor Brock was getting tagged along. "You know, that conversation we had?"

"You mean about the peanuts? I didn't think it was that interesting, really." He was racking his brain now trying to figure out what the heck she was talking about. Not wanting to give him a chance to blow it Misty began to drag him off, waving to the other girls.

"Sorry, I just need him a minute! I'll give him back soon!" She gave a reassuring smile while the two women were suddenly left with each other and some bewilderment. Once Misty had pulled him far enough to the opposite side of the room she let out a little sigh and let Brock go. "Sorry! Sorry, I just needed a quick escape." She apologized.

"Escape, from what exactly?"

"That." Misty pointed over to Crasher Wake, who was at the moment moving in on Brock's turf with the girls and from the looks of things about to ramble off into another one of his long conversations. "Sorry again, he just wouldn't stop and I don't really know anyone else here. Didn't mean to ruin your good time."

"Hey, it's alright." Brock said with the same sturdy attitude he always carried. "Friends help each other out right? I can kinda see where your coming from anyway. Reminds you of someone else doesn't it?" Brock motioned over to Lt. Surge who was currently talking to a young pink haired girl that was with the Sinnoh gym leaders. While he was fairly similar to Wake in his ability to ramble on the young girl didn't seem to mind in the manner Misty had. If anything she seemed either enthralled or absolutely confused, was hard to tell from this distance.

"Poor girl, he isn't going to let her go until he's gone into all his old military stories huh?" She let out a little sigh. "Thanks for coming with me on this trip Brock."

"Hey, it's not like I wasn't invited myself you know. Dad didn't really want to travel anyway and I'm used to it so I was happy to come." He gave her a pat on the shoulder which made her feel a bit better.

"Yeah I know it's just.. I guess you seem so much better at this kind of stuff. I don't mind meeting people and all but this whole party thing doesn't really feel comfortable to me. Plus your getting along great with the other gym leaders." She picked up a drink from the refreshment table nearby and took a sip, more for something to hold in her hand so she wasn't standing there awkwardly.

"Well maybe you just need to find a new person to pair up with." Brock began looking over the room and motioned over to the far side. "Like how about him, seems he's in the same boat as you." Misty glanced over to where Brock was motioning and it wasn't even inside the room. There was a man standing on the balcony, leaning on the fence dividing the ball room from the back parking lot of the gym. He was wearing a blue jacket and his blond hair spiked upward in a noticeable manner. Frankly she was surprised she hadn't spotted him sooner with that kind of appearance. "Why not go say hi? I think that's Voltner... no wait, Volkner, sorry." Brock was already headed back towards the group he'd been with earlier, seeming to have found a solution to Misty's problem in moments. Or maybe he just wanted to get back to the pretty women. "He's Sinnoh's Electric-Type gym leader. Supposed to be really skilled. Give it a shot." Misty didn't really have a chance to reply, Brock was already headed back into the group.

Misty let out a little sigh and finished off her drink, looking over at the blond man and shrugging her shoulders. Why not after all, she was bored and he was bored. Maybe if nothing else they could cure each others current problem. Maneuvering her way over and looking to avoid Wake's notice that she'd ditched him, Misty got out onto the balcony with Volkner and walked up near his side. He didn't seem to notice, or if he did he wasn't letting on. Actually his attention seemed to be focused on the lighthouse in the distance from the gym. Mustering up a little courage Misty finally spoke up. "So uh... some party huh?" Kind of a dumb line but she really couldn't think of anything else.

He must have been really deep in thought because it seemed like her words snapped him out of a trance, his blue eyes widening a bit when he saw that someone was standing at his side talking to him. "Oh uh... yeah, I guess it is, huh?" He smiled politely standing up from his leaning position, looking out at the crowd and back at her. "Um, they are enjoying it right?" Misty actually giggled a little and nodded to him.

"It seems pretty successful to me at least." She turned towards the crowd with him to see that the focus had turned to Lt. Surge and Crasher Wake, who were currently in the midst of an arm wrestling match that the various gym leaders were rooting for. "Everyone seems to be getting along just fine. Especially those two."

"That's Kanto's Electric-Type gym leader isn't it?" Volkner stated as if he already knew the answer.

"Yeah, that's Surge. You train Electric-Types too right? Did you guys get a chance to talk at all?" As soon as she had asked the question there was a look of concern that crossed Volkner's face.

"Well we didn't really talk... more like he talked and I listened for quite a bit. Actually I felt a little bad, I substituted Maylene for myself in the conversation and made my escape over to here." Volkner's expression softened a bit with the confession and Misty felt a bit of her tenseness ease off her as well.

"Don't feel too bad, I did the same thing to Crasher Wake over there." She realized suddenly that she hadn't even introduced herself to the man before talking to him. "Oh I'm Misty by the way. I train Water-Type in the Cerulean City's Gym." She held out her hand to shake it with him in greeting which he took respectfully. "I guess maybe water and electric go together better from other regions huh?" With the way Wake and Surge were getting along she felt grateful she had found her way over to him.

"Yeah... I guess so." He shook her hand for a moment then let it go. Turning back towards the city view from the balcony he leaned forward against the railing again. "So how do you like Sunyshore? I hope everyone got in pretty easily." Misty took a spot against the railing next to him and looked out over the city as well, the lights from the buildings reflecting off all the solar panels made it light up like a big decorative gem. "Most people find traversing through the town pretty stress-free. That's the goal anyway."

"I think it's quite beautiful actually." Misty smiled looking over the city-scape and all the lights reflecting. "It's like a big shiny diamond or pearl. Everything is lit up in a way that it feels new and precious." She gazed past the town to the waves of the ocean. "Not to mention that ocean. It must be a great place to live." She kept admiring the city until stopping on one particular landmark. "That lighthouse is a little weird though." Volkner who had previously been listening carefully to her descriptions was caught by surprise slightly when she made that statement.

"Really?" He said looking out the lighthouse's direction. The solar panels all over made it near impossible to miss day or night, as long as there was even a bit of light to reflect off its surface. "Like... what's weird about it exactly?"

"I don't know, its shape is a bit funny. I mean it doesn't really look like a lighthouse." She motioned with her hands to the large, fin like extensions coming off the side. "It makes me think that it's just going to spread out and fly away at some point, you know?" She put her arms out in a pantomime. "I don't know, I mean it must have been designed that way for a reason right? It just doesn't have the same kind of look that goes with the rest of the city." Volkner seemed to think on her words carefully, looking between her and the tall building. After a bit he shrugged and let out a sigh.

"Well I guess I didn't really think of design as much as I did function. Can see how you'd think it's funny looking." He was observing it further now as Misty had a bewildered look on her face. "Maybe I should have made it a bit more symbolic of a regular lighthouse. I just wanted to make it capable of getting as much sun as I could." It took her a moment from listening to him but before long she was finally able to put it together.

"Wait a second... YOU built that thing!" She said in a very honest surprise, Volkner didn't seem very shaken by her confusion.

"Well not me alone of course." He gave her a bit of a clever smile to her still amazed eyes. "But I designed it. Most of the electronics in the city actually. I had to start with the gym to show everyone it could be done in the first place. Once other businesses were hiring me to install the same features on their buildings the mayor himself stepped in to contract me to power the whole city with this. It's where I got the idea to make the lighthouse in the first place, and design my badge after it." He reached into his pocket and showed one of his Lighthouse badges to her. "I was thankful for the work really. It wasn't related to my real job as gym leader but it helped me get through a rough part of my life."

Misty was simply amazed at what she was hearing. She knew the man was a good gym leader but to think he had done so much work on this whole city. He was a lot more important of a person than she'd first given him credit, which made her feel a little insecure all of a sudden. Then it hit her. "Oh um... I didn't mean the lighthouse looked bad!" She put her arms up in protest, afraid she'd insulted him. "It's just... unique! That's the word I was looking for! Unique!" She laughed nervously, feeling like a real idiot after blathering on about his life's work like that. She was happy when he let out a little laugh that didn't seem at all mean spirited.

"It's okay, it does look funny." He said smiling and gazing at his creation. "Yeah, it doesn't look a thing like a real lighthouse huh? All bulbous and those wings sticking out of it. Guess I never really had an eye for designing that kind of stuff." Misty felt relief seeing he wasn't upset, but now she didn't really know what to say anymore and they were left with an awkward silence. Standing looking out at the city. It seemed like a lot of time had passed to her anyway before he finally spoke up again. "Want to see the ocean?"

"What?" She blinked looking over at him. "You mean... right now?"

"Why not? Neither one of us is enjoying this party much. Besides, I'm not really needed here as a host. This crowd is totally capable of finding its own entertainment." That did seem to be the case, when Misty looked back she saw that Surge was now arm wrestling the pink haired girl that Volkner had described as Maylene, and she seemed to be beating him despite her small stature. Everyone was rooting her on and the look of surprise on Surge's face made Misty giggle. "So what do you say?"

"Alright then. But what should we tell everyone?" As if to answer Volkner jumped over the railing onto the gym's back lot. He put out a hand to help Misty over as well.

"Nothing at all. It'll be more fun that way." She didn't know why but there was something... electric about this man. She'd just met him but was now agreeing to run off to the shore and away from all her friends with him on a whim. She'd thought for a moment about at least letting Brock know where she was going but...

 

Once they were down the street in a small jog she realized that yes, it was more fun this way. A smile lit up her face, she could swear she was smelling the ocean's breeze already.

When they had crossed enough distance that it would be fairly impossible for the others to spot them escaping the party the two shortened their jog to a brisk walk through the city streets. Misty was taking the time to look over the buildings and streets with a renewed interest. To think he'd designed all of this, put it together himself and also ran the gym for anyone who came looking for a challenge. Volkner watched her eyes dart between the buildings and answered her as if reading her mind. "Your wondering how and where I found the time to build all this huh?"

Misty snapped out of her little daze of thought and smiled up at him a little embarrassed being read so easily. "Well... yeah I guess. You don't really hear about other gym leaders doing such impressive work like this outside of running their facilities." She ran her fingers lightly over one of the tiles on the side of a building as they stepped, feeling the smooth glass like surface. "I mean some of them have hobbies and other interests that they pursue. You almost have to when the trainers don't come for weeks at a time. But this is such a huge job." Volkner rubbed the back of his head at all her compliments over his work.

"I guess I never really thought about it that way." He seemed a little flustered at her words, although Misty didn't notice right away. "Truth be told I had to come up with some alternative from the normal means of the electric plants since I was part of the reason we had to make all these things in the first place." Misty gave him a quizzical look so he continued. "My gym had a lot of contraptions that ate up power like you wouldn't believe. The city stepped in saying that I was putting a strain on the entire power grid and that I'd have to stop before I blew out the whole city's power supply."

"You were using that much?" It almost sounded too much to believe. What the heck could he have had in that building that caused so much strain on the electric company.

"Sounds kind of unbelievable I know, but I was always tinkering around with stuff, combined with giving my Pokemon the charge they needed to stay in top form... well I had to either knock it off or come up with some kind of solution. Then after I while it just kind of hit me... Sunyshore! I mean the answer was in front of me the whole time, the city where the sun always shines! Solar power was such a simple solution that it was amazing we hadn't looked into it before."

"So you had your breakthrough and you renovated your entire gym." Misty completed his speech for him, noticing they were beginning to see less of the city and the feel of the ocean breeze was starting to take over the scent in the air.

"That's right. After that the rest is history. I got the whole town on solar power and we haven't had a problem since. Oh, we're here." Volkner and Misty went down a small set of steps and off the main route leading into the city, the soft tread of sand beneath their shoes as they headed towards the sound of waves splashing up against the shore. Misty couldn't help but laugh happily as she ran over the sand and down into the water, feeling like a little girl playing on the beach. It was just exciting, she didn't think she would have had time to even see the ocean this close while she was visiting, and now she was getting a private tour down to the beach. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!" Misty exclaimed looking over the vast ocean against the moonlight. "I always love being out by the water where the waves come washing in against your feet. I didn't think I'd get a chance to explore the beach while we'd be here."

"Feel free to enjoy it. I don't really come down here much myself so it's a bit of a treat for me too." Misty didn't have to think twice about his invitation, walking along the waters and looking over the ocean. She was hoping she might actually get to see a new water Pokemon! Well new to her anyway, but she was full of possibility at the moment. In the distance she could see a dock, and farther back where the road was there were a few houses but other than that it seemed like the beach was deserted.

"No one else is here but us." She thought aloud, looking over the beach. There were signs people had been there, maybe even today from the foot prints, but as of right now they were the only two souls by the tide.

"This place is pretty popular but it's not a season for tourists. Considering it's a week day I'm not surprised the locals aren't out. Guess this night is yours Misty."

"Ours you mean." She turned around with a smile, one that caught Volkner off guard when he saw her emerald eyes sparkling back at him. He looked to the side a moment, feeling flustered again all of a sudden.

"Yeah... ours." He got himself back together again and approached her. "I'm glad you took me up on this offer. This is probably the most fun I've had in a while just being out with someone." In a way that made Misty feel a little sad. Didn't he get out much? Even back at the party he seemed like he was somehow distant from his own fellow gym leaders. It could have been his work consumed him, to put together something so massive you'd have to be dedicated or really skilled or both. Still didn't he have anyone?

"So you don't go out with friends ever?" Misty asked with a bit of a cute, sensitive tone to her voice. Volkner thought about it a bit and shrugged.

"That's not entirely true, when my friend Flint is around we hang out and talk. He's an on the go kind of guy so I see him when he has the time to stop in. Otherwise it's just me and Raichu, he's resting up back at the gym since parties aren't very comfortable for him either." Misty twiddled her thumbs in a nervous habit, listening to his words and seeing if there was a key statement he'd let her know. When it didn't come up she asked herself, unable to contain the curiosity.

"So you don't have any girls... that are friends... that you go out with?" She didn't want to come off as too direct with the question. Although why was she asking in the first place? The man was kind enough to take her out and show her around. She was a guest at his party, nothing more. Even though they were spending a little time together away from the group that didn't mean anything. The wavering of her confidence was starting to annoy herself. In the mean time Volkner had seemed like he was thinking on this question a bit carefully which just added to her nervousness. Maybe she shouldn't have asked at all...

"No, there isn't any one like that in my life at the moment." Volkner looked down at the sand as if he was remembering something and Misty was beginning to regret asking, hoping she hadn't crossed a line. "I guess I just haven't had much luck with women. Or it's a bit difficult for me to get close to someone. Either way at the moment that isn't something that's happening in my life right now." She wasn't sure how to read that answer, but if anything he'd made it clear that he was single. Also Misty had to stop thinking on that... think of anything else... The beach was lovely, there wasn't anyone else around to take it from them. She should just try to relax and enjoy things as they were. "Well, since we're here. There's really only two things trainers do down here."

"Oh?" She said look up at his eyes and feeling a bit of that nervousness return to her gut. Stupid gut. Why are guts always causing problems? Putting on weight when you eat sweets or getting cramped when swimming or full of butterflies when you look up at pretty blue eyes. "Um, what's that?" She managed to smile at him, trying to hide all this insecurity.

"They either have battles or make out." He said with a smile, finding his own little comment amusing. "So which would you like to do?" Volkner began reaching back onto his belt for his Poke-Ball, thinking she might enjoy a little battle while they were out here. His hand stopped short when the red head's lips moved up to meet his in a rather forward kiss.

Misty would kick herself later when she got home, realizing only then that he was actually inviting her to a battle. At the time though the small invitation for the kiss was more than she could take and acting on her instincts she put her lips up against his own. At first she'd been worried that maybe she had made a mistake but when he began to return the kiss a feeling of relief she'd been searching for through their entire awkward conversation rushed over her. It felt good, very good. Misty slid her hands inside of his coat to put her arms around him, feeling his back with her fingertips. Volkner's hands slid over her sides and onto her back as they began to embrace and enjoy each other more. Volkner broke the kiss for a moment and looked down at her emerald eyes, which now seemed almost brighter than the last time he'd gazed into them. They didn't exchange a word but moved forward again into their second kiss, this one more passionate than before. His hands began to venture down and explore against her lower back, causing Misty to arch forward and part her lips to give his tongue access to hers. She didn't know how much time had passed on the beach, the feeling of the water lapping at their feet as they held one another in that embrace. After what seemed like an eternity of that blissful contact they finally broke apart long enough for her to speak. "I'm getting wet." She commented with flushed cheeks, her feet soaked from the tide splashing in on them.

"That does sound like a problem. Would you like to go to a little higher ground?" Misty nodded in a lustful daze, normally more assertive but was willing to be lead by this man in this moment. He reached down and made her give a little help when he picked her up in his arms, wrapping her self around his neck. Volkner proceeded to a small hill that was near the beach and a bit out of sight from the rest of the world. It seemed like a perfect place in this moment. She leaned against his shoulder with a smile... yes, it was okay to be a little passive now. She had time to show him how assertive she could be.

Against the tiny cliff-side of the hill that stood against the beach, Misty pushed her body against Volkner in a lustful kiss. She hadn't felt this charged about another person in quite some time and she wanted him; right now. Volkner's hands began to explore her body against the tight, yellow shorts she wore over her swimsuit and feel her ass, making her moan into the kiss. Finding such a sensitive spot on her right away his fingers carefully drug against her ass, making her arch into his grip and kiss him deeper. Before long Misty couldn't handle the teasing any longer. "I think we need to get rid of these pants." She commented to him and Volkner smiled and hooked his fingers into Misty's shorts, but was surprised when she dropped down to her knees and began to unbutton his jeans. "Did you think I was talking about mine?" She winked at him, unzipping his pants and pulling them downward to find a very erect penis pushing against his boxers. Volkner actually felt a little embarrassed not expecting her to move so quickly or so confidently. Stroking her fingers against his member through his underwear she rubbed at him looking up with those same emerald eyes. "I hope you like this."

"I don't think it's possible not to." He sighed with his breath coming a little shorter. Misty smiled and pulled his boxers down to reveal his member fully to her. Rubbing her fingers around him lightly she leaned forward and took him into her mouth. Licking at the tip first her lips closed around the head of his member and gently moved up and down against him with light sucking motions. Their making out on the beach had obviously gotten him excited and she didn't want him going off too early. Pleased to see he was a decent size (Misty considered too big too much hassle and too small well... just no fun) Misty wanted to enjoy their time together as they played. Getting into a rhythm she put her hand up against his leg for support and bobbed her head against his member. She could hear his breath and light moans coming from above, seeing that indeed he was pleased with her. Wanting to have a little fun Misty sucked her lips all the way to his tip and let him go.

"Not yet? Are you trying to hold out?" She made a teasingly cute face as she stroked his member with her fingers, looking up at him with those same alluring eyes of hers again. Volkner took a deep breath looking down at her, it being fairly obvious she was enjoying this.

"Just trying to make it last." He said in a soft gasp to her. Misty smiled that he was playing along with her teasing and winked at him.

"Don't take too long, I've got more I can do you know." She pushed her lips against his tip again, licking in rapid motions before sucking him and taking as much as she could into her mouth. Hearing him start to groan a bit more she wrapped a hand around the base of his member and moved her head in rapid motions as best as she could manage. It wasn't long before she felt a push from his hips against her mouth and him cumming against her tongue. Holding herself still while he finished Misty closed her eyes let his hot fluids shoot out. When he was finally done she slipped his member out of her lips and spit out his load onto the sand. "Wow... you didn't hold back at all did you?" She said teasingly. She looked away for a moment and began spitting the rest out onto the sand, not really wanting him to watch her spit as it was a little disgusting.

"You told me not to. I wouldn't want to upset you." That was kind of cute and it made her grin as she wiped her mouth clean. As she turned around Volkner was coming down from leaning on the hill to over top of her, sliding her onto her back on the sand. "Now... I think we need to get rid of these pants." His hands slipped down her sides onto her hips and hooked into her tight shorts once again. Misty lifted her ass off the sand and wiggled as he pulled. Looking at her outfit she wondered now why everything she wore was so tight, kind of a bother when you wanted to get it off. When he had slipped the shorts away he saw beneath she was in a one piece red bathing suit under that yellow top and shorts. "Heh, I guess I should have expected that from a water trainer."

"It's just more convenient for me." She spread her legs apart and looked down at him, using her hands to pillow her head against the sand. Her muscles tensed when his fingers began to feel between her legs.

"You were right, you did get wet." Her cheeks flushed crimson at the statement and his teasing fingers pushing against her clothing.

"I didn't mean it like thaaaaaat!" Her body tensed further as he pulled aside the bottoms of her swimsuit, exposing her pussy to him and his fingers slowly rubbing against her. Misty was already so worked up he probably wouldn't have had to move her clothes to get that reaction. Laying her head against the sand now she squeezed clumps of sand into her fists, panting harder and feeling his finger slowly enter and wiggle inside of her. "This is so good!" Misty reached up and began to unbutton her jacket quickly, slipping it off her shoulders and then laying back against the sand again with a moan. She could feel his tongue begin to work against her, licking her already wet folds and making her breath even harder. "I just... I just need to... get this off..." She was protesting to let him take off her clothes but he either didn't hear or wasn't listening as his tongue lapped against her body. After a while Misty stopped trying to fight it and braced herself with her elbows, letting out higher pitched moans progressively until she couldn't take it any longer. Shutting her eyes tightly she let out a large gasp and climaxed finally to his motions. Volkner eventually stopped and leaned up, wiping his mouth clean with his sleeve and smiling at her.

"So what was that again?" He smiled smugly at her making Misty pout a little.

"I was trying to get undressed for you, pervert." Misty stated, still looking a bit pouty and standing up to undress out of her swimwear.

"Sorry, guess I got a little caught up in what I was doing. It was hard to stop with you making all those noises." Volkner took off his own shirt while Misty gave him a bit of a smirk when he complimented her voice. Tossing aside her small yellow jacket she slipped the swimsuit down from her shoulders and past her chest, letting him get a view of her top. Misty had always been a little self conscious of her chest size, she wasn't as well equipped as some of the girls she'd seen at the party but she felt her figure made up for it. Volkner didn't seem to mind anyway as he looked her over. Smiling to herself and feeling a bit seductive Misty turned around to let him watch her arch her back and slip the swimsuit down past her hips. Giving him a nice view of her assets from behind.

"Are you enjoying the view tonight?" She teased and turned to face him, finding his slightly flushed cheeks with his smile to be adorable. Volkner rubbed his head a little looking up her body and then catching those eyes again.

"It's breath-taking." He said and made Misty's heart do a little throb, but she didn't want to show how much it effected her just yet.

"Not yet it hasn't." She leaned forward over him, pushing him back onto the sand now and crawling above him on all fours. She lowered her body on top of his and pushed her chest against him, gently kissing shyly at his lips. When his arms came around her back she eased into him a little more and kissed him deeper, her head swimming with that feeling of desire and joy that had taken her when she kissed him the first time on the shore. Before long she separated the kiss and slid back on his body, pushing her pussy against his erect member. Suddenly his hands grabbed onto her hips in a surprising start.

"Wait. I don't have a condom with me." Misty looked almost confused by the statement, not sure why he was stopping her as she was in a bit of a lusty daze. After a moment she pouted and looked at him with sad green eyes.

"But can't you just... hold it back until you pull out?" She pleaded lightly, now shaking her ass up and down so she slid against his member. The feeling of her pussy rubbing against him but not yet entering was almost enough of a tease to make him want to climax right away.

"It's not safe. I mean... I don't know if I'll be able to control it in time. Do you have to do that?" She was moving her rear in a little rhythm now, his member becoming slick from her pussy.

"Oh don't hold out on me now, please!" She pleaded with him again, seeing that her little motion she'd come up with to get her way was working pleasantly well. "I promise I'll stop the moment you tell me to. Please... I need it." She pleaded again trying to make her voice sound as sweet as possible. It seemed to work regardless of Volkner's protests as he reluctantly give in.

"Okay okay... just stop the moment I say so, okay?"

"Yay!" She couldn't help but celebrate her little victory with a cute smile that totally betrayed the sad act she'd put on just moments before. Volkner rolled his eyes a bit but smiled watching her. Misty sat up onto her knees now and raised herself over him. Using her hands she guided him into herself and lowered down with a satisfied moan. "Oh yes." Letting him slip in as far as she could without resistance she began to work her hips up and down on him. Before long Misty was panting with a satisfied smile on her face as her body was reacting quickly to the friction she wanted. Letting out shouts of pleasure her hands gripped onto Volkner's and squeezed, her pussy clenching around his member. "Oh this is so good!"

Volkner was panting trying to hold himself back, Misty's body bouncing on his hips and watching her breasts jiggle along with her movements. He tried to hold out to let her get as much pleasure as she could before he knew there wasn't much more he could do. Squeezing her hands in return he finally spoke up. "Now! I have to pull out now!" Misty was true to her word and slipped off his member surprisingly quick. Slipping onto his stomach she pushed her ass back against his member and began shaking it up and down again. The motions against her was enough to make Volkner climax as he came onto her lower back and ass, spilling his warm substance onto her skin. Misty shivered a little feeling him come onto her back, slowing down the motions of her hips until she was sure he was done. She laid on his chest, the both of them catching their breath in the heat of the moment after sex. Misty stared at the waves of the ocean and Volkner looked up at the stars, both of them finding this warm place on the sand to be the only place they wanted to be in the world right now. Volkner's fingers traced along Misty's shoulders and back, sliding up and down until he accidentally touched his own cum on her back. Misty kept a giggle inside herself when his hand pulled away.

"Yeah... sorry about that."

"Nothing to worry about." He commented wiping his hand off on his shirt. He slowly leaned up and wiped the rest of his mess from her back onto his shirt as well. Misty eventually rose up from her seat on his stomach and off of his body, falling with a comical flop onto her butt on the sand. She made an annoyed sound feeling the bits of sand stick to her body where she was wet. Groaning she thought aloud.

"Well I got sand sticking to my body and we both smell like sex. What are we going to do about it?" She said looking over at him and propping her head on her hands. Despite her complaining she actually felt great. In fact she hadn't felt this good in quite a long time. But really it had been a while since she had done anything like they had done just now. Her cheeks wouldn't stop blushing and Volkner found it just charming on her face. Sitting up calmly he looked from her to the beach, not seeming bothered by the problems she'd just presented to him. Thinking it over for longer than he really needed so they could sit and relax he eventually stood up and took his clothes in hand. He reached his hand down to her for her to rise with him, which she did willingly. Standing naked on the sand with him against the moonlight she felt like this was the sort of moment she had dreamed of before when she fantasized about having a... boyfriend.

"Want to go skinny dipping?" Well that wasn't exactly the words she was hoping for in this moment but it did make her giggle aloud. She nodded her head and they both ran down to the beach. Jumping into the water Misty had a nagging thought in the back of her mind. What exactly would they say when they got back to the party? What would Volkner say? We went down to the beach to have sex, no big deal? Would he lie for her? Would he lie that they were even together? At the moment she didn't want to think about these things. She just wanted to keep swimming with the blue eyed man that was making her so happy this night. Besides in the end it didn't matter. Volkner was already working on a plan to take care of the both of them.

 

When Volkner and Misty walked back into the ball room of the Sunyshore Gym Brock was extremely relieved. Of course everyone had taken notice after both Volkner and Misty had disappeared into the night and no one knew for sure exactly where the two of them had gone. This had resulted in the Sinnoh gym leaders doing a top to bottom search of the gym with no sign of either of the two. It was presumed they were okay but Brock had felt all sorts of guilt when Misty went missing. He didn't want to think that Volkner would have done anything bad to her but he had no idea where she had gone and the result had made him very paranoid. When she did show up she was greeted with a big hug from her old friend. "Misty! Oh man, I had no idea where you had gone!" She returned the hug a little embarrassed with everyone looking at her.

"It's okay Brock, I'm fine! I just went for a little walk with Volkner here." Volkner nodded to Brock with a nervous smile to see how he'd take it. Fortunately for both of them he was just happy to see his friend okay.

"Sorry about the over reaction like that, we just had no idea what happened so we were all a little freaked out." He gave Volkner a pleasant thanks for bringing his friend back which sent waves of relief through the pair. It didn't last long however as the other gym leaders didn't seem quite as pleased with their behavior. The purple haired woman who Misty noted was the one talking with Brock when she had ditched the party made her way to the forefront next to Brock with an annoyed look on her face.

"Volkner! I'm surprised at you! Taking this poor girl around the city to show off your accomplishments and not telling a soul? Oh I'm sure that's the reason you ran off too, isn't it? To brag about your city, wasn't it?" The woman had an interesting accent now that Misty had taken notice of her, making her wonder where she was from originally.

"Fantina, it's not what your thinking." Volkner tried to explain but she cut him off, pulling Brock closer to herself to have him readily available as an example.

"Poor Brock was so worried about her. He diligently looked all over your gym to find his beloved Misty! To think you were the one that stole her away." Brock had looked happy when Fantina was giving him all this attention but it fell away when she was under an obvious misunderstanding.

"Actually... me and Misty aren't... you know, anything more than friends."

"What do you have to say for yourself Volkner!" It was kind of sweet that she was coming to Brock's defense so gallantly however he seemed a bit dejected that she didn't take notice that he was available for any other women to date. Preferably herself. When she was finally done speaking Volkner calmly replied with the same confident smile Misty had seen on the beach. She absently thought that she was beginning to like that look on him.

"First off, I do apologize to everyone. All my fellow comrades are aware that I've never been very good when it came to social events like these. So when I got the chance to sneak off I took it. Once again sorry everyone." Everybody seemed to calm down when he started talking, interested to hear his story. It occurred to Misty that they were probably the talk of the party while they were away and it amused her a little thinking about what the crowd must have been speculating about the two of them. "Basically I wanted to get out of the building and Misty let me know she had never seen the ocean. So we took a walk down to the beach." It was short, sweet and to the point. Everyone seemed pretty convinced by the story, even Fantina. She let out another little scoff and seemed to grudgingly accept his apology.

"Well, next time be sure to let everyone know what your doing. Your too reckless Volkner." She seemed sated now with the knowledge of their activities. At least that's what Misty thought, until someone decided to speak up.

"Why are you guys wet?" The orange haired woman spoke up from the crowd. Misty didn't know who she was but from the green poncho like top she wore and the brown shorts something about her shouted Grass-Type Pokemon. She'd brought up the one thing that Misty had really hoped they'd avoid asking. The walk had mostly dried them off but their clothes and hair were still damp from being in the ocean. Taking her out to see the water was one thing but how was he going to explain the two of them swimming together? Misty felt her cheeks flush worried they were already caught. Volkner surprised her again though.

"It's kind of embarrassing but... I fell off the dock." He smiled sheepishly at the crowd which got a few laughs out of some of the gym leaders. "I was showing her around and wasn't really paying attention and fell right in. Misty didn't know if I could swim or not so she dived in after me. Guess I was lucky to have someone watching my back huh?"

"Oh! Yeah... yeah good thing everything turned out to be okay." Misty chimed in her agreement to go along. She smiled a little, everyone seemed convinced except for the orange haired woman. She was looking between her and Volkner with a suspicious gaze that made Misty feel deeply uncomfortable. It was like she was peering right into her and trying to pull the truth out.

"So that's all that happened?" She asked Volkner again, her voice having a hint of suggestion to it. Volkner responded in kind with a slight bit of force behind his own voice.

"Yes Gardenia, that's all that happened." They exchanged a look for a moment which was a much deeper conversation than their words. Misty scanned the crowd and while everyone seemed to have lost interest she could see that girl Maylene whispering something to another girl with black pig-tails. She could only guess what it was. Feeling a bit uncomfortable she walked over to where Brock and Sabrina were standing wanting to be near someone that she knew right now. Standing by her friends she glanced over at the two of them. Brock seemed more interested in where Fantina was going off to but Sabrina was locked in a gaze with Misty. She thought about sharing what she'd done with someone just to let it out, but Sabrina just smiled and nodded her head towards Volkner. She always seemed to already know whatever it was you were thinking. It made her feel a little relieved to see a reassuring look from a friend tonight. Before long the crowd was starting to disperse as everyone was saying their good byes.

Misty made sure to find Crasher Wake before she left, apologizing for leaving him during the party earlier. He didn't even feel bothered by it though, just happy that everyone was okay after the little panic of their disappearance. Overall everyone seemed like they had enjoyed this get together and some were even talking about doing it again sometime. As they were shuffling out Brock came over to Misty and was just beaming. "You look like you one the lottery." She mused at his big goofy smile.

"Fantina gave me her number! I actually came away from this party with a girl's number!" Brock was on cloud nine right now which made Misty let out a giggle at his behavior. He stuffed it carefully into his wallet before turning to her. "Did anyone pass their number onto you? You know like Crasher Wake for your Water-Type Pokemon training?" Misty realized that no... actually she hadn't gotten anyone's number. She didn't have any way for her to contact anyone else here. No one at all. Feeling a bit depressed she was going to respond before Volkner walked up behind the two.

"Oh Misty, once again I just wanted to say thanks for going for that walk with me tonight." She looked at him and then Brock not really sure what to say. Mustering up a little courage she finally spoke.

"Yeah I um... I really enjoyed it tonight." She managed to smile as Volkner took her hand in a polite handshake. When she let it go she felt a piece of paper in her palm and smiled to herself, already aware of what was written on it.

"I hope you two travel back safely. If you have any trouble on the way out of the city just get in touch with me." Volkner nodded to her with a smile, Misty couldn't help but giggle a little which aroused a little suspicion in Brock's face but she didn't really care right now. "Brock, sorry again for worrying you like that."

"Oh, don't think anything of it." He gave Volkner a hand shake as well. The two of them parted Volkner's company as he headed back into the gym. Misty took Brock's arm in hers and she pulled him into a skip down the street. Brock was more than a bit surprised as he was pulled along with her. "Wha-what is this all about!"

"I don't know!" She exclaimed happily as she kept him along with her. "But I just feel so... electric tonight!"


	2. The Connection

Getting through customs to go back to the Kanto region was just as much fun for Misty as it was for anybody. Check into the gate, show your tickets, walk through the metal detector as it goes off, take off your shoes, take out your keys, have the machine beep to say your wearing metal AGAIN, walk through it again, get pat down by some jerk security guard that thinks your bra may be an area where your hiding weapons, and end it off with them saying it must be the buttons on your shorts. Brock never went through this kind of headache, he just took out his wallet and walked through. Some people have all the luck.

Once they were finally through all the mess and bother Misty and Brock were nestled into their seats on the plane, which always seemed to be just a little bit too small for Brock. Well so maybe he didn't have all the luck. At least they got to sit next to each other so she wasn't bored out of her mind on the whole flight. When they were settled and their things safely stowed away overhead Misty rested a bit and glanced out the window. She'd only been here a day, met someone she really liked (at least she liked him, she hoped he felt the same way) and now she was leaving. She could see the reflection of the water of the sea out through her window, a distance past the airport and let a little sigh drift out of her lips. Just a day ago she was on the beach of that very ocean and feeling tingles of pleasure over every inch of her body. Now they had to leave it. Why'd they have to go so soon?

"Looking at the ocean?" Misty snapped back to reality when she heard Brock's voice. Her cheeks were likely a little red when she was day dreaming and tried to hide it from him. "It is pretty looking. Wish I'd gotten a chance to check out the beach myself. Too bad we have to leave so soon."

"Yeah... it's really too bad." She couldn't help but sigh again looking at the water. She didn't mean to but was practically telegraphing her feelings over to Brock as she gazed out the window. He tried to find something in the magazine he'd bought at the gift shop to keep himself occupied but for his better character he couldn't ignore Misty when she was clearly bothered by something.

"So what was the beach like anyway?" Misty snapped back again before she fell into her day dream world, trying to focus on the question. What was the beach like? Well other than the two naked people having sex on it, it was like any other beach. Sand, water... sex. On the beach. Like the drink. After a moment she thought of that and couldn't help but giggle, making Brock raise and eyebrow at her. She waved him off.

"Sorry it's... just something funny that happened." She kept herself from giggling and tried to think. "It was nice. I mean we had the whole place to ourselves. When we went down there no one else was on the beach or the dock. So we sort of just wandered around the beach for a while." She was blushing a little now but didn't even try to hide it. "It was a lot of fun, I was glad to have gotten the chance to see it." Brock was eyeing her a bit curiously now. He felt like something was going on that hadn't been made clear when Misty had come back that night.

"Did you guys find any water Pokemon, or battle or anything like that?" Misty thought on the question a bit. A battle, that was what lead to this whole thing in the first place wasn't it? When she kissed him instead of taking his real offer. She didn't regret a moment of it though. Oh wait, Brock asked her something. Okay Misty time to focus, he's giving you that squinty eye look that... well he always has but you can tell he's on to you!

"Well you know... there's only two things trainers do on the beach." She smiled just letting that hang there, Brock didn't seem to get it though.

"... which is?" Misty was getting a little flustered at all the questions.

"Battle or Make out. So you know..." Brock was eyeing her still and didn't seem to find the joke as funny as Volkner had when he'd made it. Seems he was the only one that was joking about that second option when he said it.

"So which did you do?" Dammit, he would ask that. She was getting very flustered now. Misty didn't want to lie to her friend. She liked Brock and didn't want to keep things from him but... what would he think? I mean it was his fault for pointing her towards him in the first place. She's sure he would have gladly taken the opportunity she did if he was in her place... well with one of the girls not with Volkner. Admitting it though felt embarrassing.

"Well which one do you think?" She hoped that put a damper on the questions, he wouldn't really be suspicious of her doing anything with a guy she just met right?

"Misty, how did Volkner fall in the water again?" Okay what the hell, are we playing detective or something? She was actually getting a bit angry and was just about ready to yell at Brock when she stopped herself. This wasn't his fault... why was she so angry, why did she try so hard to hide this? Was it shameful? She liked Volkner... a lot. Brock was her friend, she can tell him anything right? Mustering up some courage she didn't make eye contact but decided to answer a bit more honestly.

"He um... he didn't really fall in exactly. We kind of went swimming at the beach." She could feel his squinty eyes on her as she answered, essentially admitting that Volkner had lied for her last night when they had arrived back at the party.

"So you guys went swimming, and he went in his clothes?" Figured he'd ask that part. Well... guess she might as well put it all on the line.

"We weren't exactly... wearing clothes... when we went swimming." She looked over at him and thought for the first time in her life she was going to see him wide eyed. The moment was almost too amazing to believe. She held a gaze with him for a while before he finally got the nerve to speak again.

"Misty... what did you guys do at the beach exactly?" There was a tone of worry and concern like how a big brother would speak. She could tell where his thoughts were going and wanted to reel him in before he started to get a little angry himself.

"Okay Brock, calm down. It's not how your thinking, okay!" She was getting defensive and that was making him worry even more. Which was making her emotions rise up just as much. "Hey, listen! Okay, your the one that pointed me to him in the first place. So really whatever happened is all your fault."

"My fault!" Brock's voice rose up suddenly which got the attention from the rest of the plane's passengers that were nearby. The two looked around a bit embarrassed and quieted it down. "How is whatever happened my fault? Speaking of which, what happened exactly? Did you two... like really make out?"

"Well..." Her fingers were fiddling with each other in a nervous way as she tried to think of the best way to answer that question. He was looking at her so upset. What right did he have to be upset with her? She could make her own decisions! "We um... we did kiss. I mean, we did make out. By the beach. You know... what do trainers do at the beach? So we took the second option." She smiled to try and make the situation more light-hearted but Brock didn't seem to think it was that funny.

"Misty... you just met him! I mean... you just met him that night. Then he lures you out to the beach all by yourself and starts making out with you?" Misty could feel her temper rise in her again. "I mean you don't know him that well. What if he does this all the time with girls? Just takes you down there and kiss and... what... swim naked? What made you guys go skinny dipping?" Misty looked away from Brock now, feeling her temper begin to build up with Brock's words. Who was he to judge her! To suggest that Volkner would... do that with all the girls. He seemed so nice. He was nice, right? He wouldn't have taken advantage of her, right? "Misty... listen. You didn't have sex with him did you?" She didn't want to answer, she didn't want to talk about this anymore. He was taking a night that she'd fallen in love with and was twisting it into some perverted sex game with Volkner as the villain. "Did you guys do it? Misty?" She felt her emotions boiling up and couldn't hold it back any longer.

"Well I'm not a virgin you know!" In that moment the plane seemed to quiet down, right at the perfect time for her to declare her sexual conquest to the rest of the passengers. Misty and Brock both turned red when they saw the eyes peering at them. Just to make it worse one of the flight attendants was walking towards them now and stopped to look at them.

"Miss, we're happy to have you on our flight. But if it's okay, please keep those comments low enough for the passengers trying to sleep?" They both nodded and hid their faces behind some magazines. When it felt like enough time had passed for the two of them not to be the center of attention they came up from hiding to return to their positions of Misty looking out the window and Brock looking at her. Brock let out a sigh and looked down, rubbing the back of his head as he seemed to be sorting out what he should say to her.

"Look... sorry I snapped at you. But I'm just worried about you okay?" Misty let out a little sigh and looked down too. She supposed he was right, she hadn't really been thinking about anything other than how perfect everything had seemed. But now... "Do you think he's a good guy? Did he seem like he was... worth you?" The phrasing was awfully sweet and it made her smile when he said it. She pondered it for a while and nodded.

"I don't think he wasn't genuine with me." She finally managed with some confidence. "I feel like he was lonely somehow. Like there was something about himself that was sad and alone. So when we began I just felt like there was some sort of connection between us." She thought about it a little deeper and Brock gave her time to come up with her next thought. "I don't know Brock. I feel something. Do I love him? I can't really answer that yet but... I don't regret what we did." She nodded her head to herself with that statement. "I don't regret it at all. And if something more comes from it then I think everything I went through was worth it." She looked him in the eye now with a smile which seemed to relieve some of Brock's tension.

"Well if you feel this confident about it then I guess I'll trust you." Brock finally gave way to her argument, with Misty feeling a small victory in her own mind. "I just wanted to be sure this guy wasn't taking advantage of you in anyway you know?" She smiled and gave him a little hug in their chairs. Brock was such a sweety, she hoped that one of the girls at the party called him back to make him just as happy. When she let him go he was smiling a bit goofy and feeling happy for himself. "So are you going to talk to this guy again?" Misty made a little sound of happy agreement as she reach into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Got his number right here, you weren't the only one that walked away from that party with one." She smiled slyly at Brock which now made him feel a bit embarrassed. "I mentioned to him that he should email me too on the walk back from the beach. I told him how to find it on the Cerulean Gym web page online. She tucked the number safely away in her pocket again as Brock thought that out.

"Well I guess if you get an email today when you get back we'll know if this guy is serious or not." Misty scoffed a little at the idea and pulled out her own fashion magazine of Pocket Rocket to read on the flight.

"C'mon Brock, I mean I know he's probably never met a girl as cute as me before but I'm sure he's got more important things to do then write me emails first thing in the morning."

"I have absolutely no idea what I should say." Volkner finally admitted aloud after looking at a blank email on his computer screen for twenty minutes. He'd sat down to write a little email to Misty after he'd gone through his morning routine and gotten dressed. At first he'd been a little worried about it, not wanting to come off as desperate or stalkerish or anything like that. But it seemed only polite that he give her some kind of greeting when she arrived home. He'd followed the links like she had said on her Gym's website and thought absently to himself that she needed someone to design their page a bit easier to access. The page was simple enough but it struck him like something a city would make for its public services. There was nothing flashy or stand-outish about it, and finding the contact info for her specifically instead of her sisters was a pain. The last thing he wanted though was to send a general email to her whole family after they... well after they had such a good night together. But now that he'd come to his destination he was entirely at a loss for words. "Geez... I dunno. Raichu what do you think?"

"Chu." The little Pokemon responded the only way it knew how. It's ears twitched as it looked up at Volkner which cause him to pet its head with a smile. "Least you Pokemon never seem to have problems with what to say. Guys are lucky." Raichu looked at him with a confused expression then hopped over to the bed to find a comfy place to lay, leaving his master to do battle once again with the flat screen that had nothing of real interest on it to Pokemon. This left Volkner once again back to his task of finding the words that were sweet but not too sweet. That would let her know that he liked her but didn't come off too strong. Something that was poetic and cool and dammit he wasn't any good at this stuff! "I should have stuck to brooding, I can do brooding." He sighed, leaning back in his chair looking at the ceiling. Maybe he should put this off until later. She should still be traveling back home anyway and would need some time to unwind. He had time. After he went out and did some work and checked to see if anyone wanted to do a gym battle he'd have his head clear and this would all be a lot easier. "Okay... I'll just figure this out later." He sighed and went to turn off the monitor... and couldn't. Crap, it was just bugging him too much. Okay he could get this done. No distractions! You got all the time you want, nothing else to take your focus.

"Hey Volkner!" He was just robbed of his focus.

"Hey Flint, not knocking again I see."

"When have I ever?" Flint walked into Volkner's room and took a seat on the bed, petting Raichu as he laid down and gave little "Chus" of satisfaction. "Just wanted to swing by and say hi. Was kind of hoping I'd catch you with a hang over after that party last night." Flint smiled his cheerful grin. Flint was one of the elite four, the four challengers that tested trainers who looked to win the Pokemon championship. He was wearing the usual a bright yellow shirt, blue jeans and had his fiery red hair in an Afro. His energetic personality reflected well his preference for Fire-Type Pokemon. Since his Pokemon weren't walking with him Volkner assumed they must have been in the Pokeballs on his belt. Just like Volkner the two had been training Pokemon since they were children, and that passion had lead the two into a friendship and rivalry and fueled their strength and careers as trainers. Volkner just wished the guy would knock, Flint always barged in when he wanted to come over. "So how was it anyway?"

"The party? It was fine. Most everyone got in and out alright. People seemed to enjoy themselves and everyone had a good time." It was a pretty generic response but since Volkner hadn't been at the party for the most of it he didn't really have a lot of information on what happened. "The Electric-Type trainer of Kanto was a bit of a pain, I had to set up Maylene to take my position in a conversation to escape it." Flint let out a laugh that made Volkner feel a bit more at ease with himself.

"Sounds pretty basic, I bet you were bored to tears with most of it huh?" Volkner thought about his answers pretty carefully. He'd lied last night to protect Misty from any thoughts the other gym leaders might have had about her. He honestly wasn't too concerned about himself, Volkner had always been kind of a loner and even though he'd opened up more to people he still didn't let them stop him from doing what he wanted to do. But for her sake he didn't want anything negative to happen. Huh... guess he really did care.

"Well yeah... the party was pretty boring." He said trying to be as honest as he could. He didn't mind lying to the gym leaders to protect Misty, but Flint was different. He knew he could trust his buddy. He just wasn't about to let everything gush out to him. "Not a whole lot happened there. Everyone seemed to have a good time."

"Were there any babes among the Kanto leaders?" Volkner rolled his eyes at Flint's question, shrugging.

"Yeah, there were a few of the girls that were real attractive there. The mostly chatted it up with everyone else though." Flint smirked thinking about it.

"Bet it was nice seeing a few new sexy trainers huh? Get any of their numbers?" He asked with a jesting tone but Volkner looked away for a moment. Yes... technically he had, but he didn't have to admit that right away. While he tried to think of an answer Flint didn't give him the time. "No way, did you really get one of their numbers?" Volkner still avoided making eye contact, not able to come up with a good answer. Annoyingly Flint still didn't give him the chance to end the conversation there. "Dude, you hound dog!" He laughed out loud at his blond friend who was looking annoyed and embarrassed. "Wow man, I'm impressed. Never seen you work that fast before. Did you get a good night kiss?"

"..." Volkner once again didn't know what to say, and Flint was just as quick as a flash fire with the questions.

"No way! You actually got a kiss! Was it like, you know just a peck on the cheek or you get like full kiss going on?"

"Dude! Really! I can't believe you man!" Volkner was grumbling on the inside, he didn't even have time to speak and Flint was dissecting him in seconds. "Like was it hot and heavy making out?"

"Noooo. No way! Ha ha! Like were you all corny and took her for a sexy walk on the beach?" Flint was finding this endlessly amusing but Volkner couldn't find an area to protest.

"No way... you didn't... you didn't really ditch the party and go for a walk on the beach!"

"Seriously! Damn man, your a Casanova over here! But it wasn't like... more than that right?"

"No. Way. You did not. You did not! On the beach!"

"Dude! I can't believe you!" He didn't know if Flint was just teasing him or was legitimately impressed with his accomplishments. He was smiling so much and leaning so close he was about to fall off the bed. "Damn your smooth! Are you going to still talk to her?"

"..." He looked over at the screen on the computer which was probably the worst thing he could have done because that drew Flint's eyes to it as well.

"Your emailing her now aren't you!" Volkner let out a little growl of annoyance and Flint was actually standing now, so excited over these events. "Did she leave you her underwear as a trophy?"

"What?" Volkner snapped out of it looking up at his friend. "Dude, what the hell was that? No she didn't do that."

"Oh, sorry. Was seeing how far I could go with this before you spoke up." He grinned sheepishly. "But still man... that's amazing! Who is it?" Volkner sighed, the cat was clearly out of the bag and he couldn't very well lie about it to him. After a minute he just confessed.

"Her name is Misty, she's the Cerulean gym leader. Uses Water-Type Pokemon."

"A Water-Type trainer eh?" Flint was rubbing his chin with a devilish grin. "Nice going man, I bet she's one of those swimmer types, probably had an amazing body huh?"

"Volkner, enough with that gag."

"Okay okay, yes she had an amazing body. She was beautiful, okay? Possibly the hottest woman I've ever met in my life!" Flint held up his hands in surrender.

"Alright man, don't mean to make you angry. Seriously what you so uptight for anyway? If she's so attractive and she wants you to still talk to her isn't this a good thing?" Volkner sighed and looked down trying to think of what it was that was bugging him. He knew but it was a little awkward to say out loud to his male friend.

"I just don't want to mess this up." Volkner confessed and Flint softened his expression but was still smiling. It was fun to see Volkner actually interested in someone and he was glad that he actually cared about this person. "I'm trying to come up with something cool to say. I know that sounds dumb but I don't want to just send 'did you have a good flight' or 'was it a nice trip' or something bland like that. I want her to care about it and think that I'm not just some shallow jerk that wanted to fuck her, you know?" Flint nodded and thought about it.

"Okay, I'll help you."

"Excuse me?" Volkner looked up at the Afro man with an expression of skepticism. "Your going to help me write a letter to a girl?" Flint smirked with a confident grin.

"What, think I don't got what it takes?" Volkner really didn't want to answer that. He didn't really see Flint with a lot of girls and what girlfriends he'd had in the past he didn't talk about very much. Beside his buddy was a little bit on the impulsive side so whatever he came up with he might run on the first thought. "Oh, I already know that look. Don't you worry man, you see your problem is that you haven't done your research." Volkner raised an eyebrow legitimately curious now and stepped up from his chair, letting Flint take the seat. Volkner sat on the bed watching his friend.

"So what's this amazing research you think you can do after I've already met her?" Volkner had a bit of a confident grin of his own but it didn't deter Flint in the least.

"My friend you have the internet at your fingertips. All you need to know about any trainer is all right here." He went to PokeSearch on the web browser and typed Misty's name in. Volkner was rolling his eyes at what his friend seemed to think was an exciting search. "See, I already found some links."

"Yeah, I know. I was on their website a moment ago." Volkner still didn't seem all that impressed. "I mean really what's the big deal, it's not like their website was well taken care of. They probably haven't updated their info in like three years." Volkner felt like the excitement of the search was already over and he was at square one. "Besides, it's not like she's waiting for my message as we speak."

"He still hasn't emailed me." Misty stated with a tone of disappointment. When her and Brock arrived at the Kanto Airport the said their good byes they both immediately headed home, both wanting to be back at their respective houses and resting from the trip. Misty had arrived about an hour after the plane touched down and was already in her bedroom. Her sisters had questioned her on the party but she managed to convince them that she needed a little time to unwind before she was willing to gossip. What she didn't admit to them, or herself immediately, was that she wanted to get online to see if Volkner had sent her an email like he'd promised. Sadly she still didn't have any response but was convincing herself that she shouldn't expect anything right away regardless.

Taking the time to unpack and put the dirty clothes in the hamper along with the clean ones away in her dresser she walked by her computer again and checked the screen... nothing. Putting her suitcase away and emptying out her bag that she carried all her toiletries in Misty swung back again by chance next to her computer and checked her email one more... still nothing. Wanting to fully unwind and relax Misty then proceeded to strip down and enter the shower, letting her body relax and ease away the tension of her travels. While the hot water felt really good after being cooped up inside the plane for all that time Misty unconsciously hurried her shower along. Once she was finished she wrapped herself up in a towel and walked back into her room, updating the page with her email showing. "Still nothing." She said with an annoyed pout and collapsed onto her bed. She sighed a little staring up at the ceiling. "He could have just sent a 'Hi how are you doing' by now at least." She pouted a little at the fact he was making her wait. Then realized that was a bit childish and scolded herself for acting this way. "Oh just calm down. He's an important man! He's got that whole solar powered city to keep him busy and a gym." She tried to convince herself but it didn't make her feel any better.

"Still... he could find a few minutes for me, right?" She said a little sad, looking over at her computer screen then the ceiling again. Misty had always been a romantic and while it made her focus a little too much on relationships at times she was trying to be an adult about all of this. "Just be a little more patient, that's all." She let out a little sigh and closed her eyes on the bed. It didn't help, if anything it made her worse as she started to remember that night on the beach. The pretty water and waves against the sand, the wind blowing in at them from the ocean. Then that embarrassing moment when she kissed him, embarrassing but oh so nice. Warm and comforting and a strong embrace as he held her in his arms. She stretched a bit on the bed making her towel slide off, yawing a little. "Mmmm. Why did that night have to end?" She pouted again. It was such a good night, so sweet and fun and happy. Their little exercise together had been very enjoyable too. She hadn't had that much fun in a while and Misty was missing having someone she liked in her arms and over top of her to make her feel warm. "Volkner, you better not forget about me." She sighed again, her hand brushing against her hip. She looked over at the computer screen again. "Volkner..." She spoke quietly and parted her legs and her hand found its way between them. Well... she had time to wait anyway. Might as well treat herself and help her body relax some more. She closed her eyes again, thinking of that night on the beach as her fingers started to rub her pussy gently.

"Dude, your girlfriend is hot." Volkner groaned as he'd listened to about the sixth comment like that since Flint had hijacked his computer. As it turned out the Cerulean Gym website was the last place he'd intended on going with his special research. Instead he'd found a site that had far more detail about Misty and her sisters than Volkner would have thought possible to be publicly available. While Flint was moving between the pages of the gym leader women in their swimsuits Volkner had started working on a Pokeball that was broken and he'd been trying to repair by hand as a hobby of late. Raichu was still napping on the bedsheets, finding the actions of both humans to be pointless and tiresome. As far as Raichu was concerned they should be focusing on rubbing his belly or getting him a treat. Still Volkner just kept tinkering with that Pokeball and Flint kept commenting. "Your girlfriend's sisters are all hot too."

"Will you stop that? And she's not my girlfriend. We've only spent a night together once so far." He was trying to keep busy to not think about it but every so often Volkner was looking up to see what Flint had found. And truth be told yes, Misty and her sisters were quite attractive. Well assisted by the fact that the majority of the pictures of them featured the girls in swimsuits. There were so many shots of them, all from various angles too. For the most part it looked like they'd been taken while the women were doing gym battles but a few were regular pictures or snapshots taken of them on the beach or just swimming in a pool. Despite how pretty looking her sisters were it seemed Misty was the main focus of the website.

"You had sex with a red head that's got a killer body and your totally flustered right now about what to say to her. Your telling me there's not a relationship there?" Volkner felt a spring fly out of the Pokeball as he was tightening a nut into place and let out a frustrated growl as he put the ball back on his desk.

"Where the hell are you anyway that your finding these pictures? What the hell are you looking at!" It was naturally a picture of Misty, perfectly timed as she was getting out of a pool and happened to be bent forward. Apparently she didn't always wear shorts while swimming as this particular one piece was riding up in an almost pornographic way. "Get that off the screen!"

"Okay okay, calm down! I was saving these to your hard drive for you too." Volkner felt a vein appearing on his forehead but tried to calm down and ignore it. "I don't see why your so surprised, there's sites like this all over the internet. They're all fan made too. You even have one." Volkner's anger dropped like a rock when he heard that. He wasn't even aware there was another website out there about his gym or him other than the public one for the city. Flint pulled up a site that was titled 'Volkner's Volts' and proceeded to show him the webpage. It was actually pretty well made he had to admit. There were some picture galleries (he didn't want to think about what might be in there) a schedule for his hours and matches with people, and a record of folks that had challenged him and responded as to what they thought.

"I didn't even know this existed." Volkner was leaning over the chair now where Flint was sitting to get a better look. "Why are people bothering with this anyway? We have a forum and email on the Sunyshore Gym site."

"Most people don't like public sites like that, don't trust 'em. People don't like to be judged or censored so they make their own sites like this. Lets them have more freedom, made by the fans for the fans." The fans? Volkner didn't think he had any fans but this website was proving him wrong pretty quick. He was reading a lot of the comments and they were surprisingly positive. Flint saw the grin showing up on Volkner's face and rolled his eyes. "Jeez, stroking your ego much there? Just a bunch of high-schoolers talking about the most interesting thing in their town. No biggie." Volkner raised an eyebrow and came up with a thought.

"Okay, what's your site look like?" Flint got wide eyed and looked away.

"Um... I'd rather not look at that right now."

"What? Why?" Maybe he didn't have as many followers as Volkner. Flint would be the type to not want to give something like that to Volkner. Especially since he'd just learned that he even had a fan site made for himself just now.

"Just um... you know... it's not important. We should focus on why we're here." He pulled up the tab where that picture of Misty bending over was still located. "After all we need to research to figure out how to swoon your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Volkner protested rather loudly this time when Flint brought up the website again. He sat there for a moment just looking up at his friend. They didn't say anything for a while, then finally Flint broke the silence.

"Well um... since she's not your girlfriend, do you mind if I email these pictures of her and her sisters to myself?" Volkner took control of the mouse and closed the webpage that had Misty on it. Flint grumbled and crossed his arms. "I was just trying to help." Volkner rolled his eyes and sat the on bed again, looking over at the PokeBall. He sighed a bit and shrugged.

"It's alright man, thanks for trying. It's not that big a deal. She's probably not even that worried about me anyway."

"Volkner!" She stated in a moan as her fingers probed inside her now wet pussy, stroking herself while she remembered that night on the beach. Misty's imagination began to take the better of her as she was parting her legs more and lifting her hips upwards to her hands. "You can take me..." If her sisters had heard her talking aloud to herself like this the teasing would have never ended. Still in the privacy of her own room she didn't want to lose focus of her current fantasy. She thought of the blond man over top of her, sinking himself deep into her warm body and pushing inside. The thought made her moan loud as she rubbed herself faster. Her other hand gripped onto the sheets of her bed and she moved her hips in a little rolling motion towards her fingers. "Don't... hold back for me." She breathed hot against her shoulder as her finger curved up inside of her, making her give a little shout just a bit louder than she intended as her body shook. She felt her finger cover itself slightly with the results of her small orgasm but wasn't satisfied there. Her daydream was sweet and she wanted to keep it up.

Turning herself over onto her stomach she lifted her ass up into the air and parted her legs again, reaching between her thighs to rub herself once more. Her cheeks blushed always feeling a little embarrassed doing this but it gave her the most satisfaction of any position by herself. Bracing her head on her forearm she closed her eyes and imagined the blond man again behind her, this time rubbing her ass and squeezing it with his fingers. Her own fingers began to rub herself in small circles as she panted a bit harder and remembered the feeling of Volkner against her own body. "Please... don't keep me waiting." It was a plea to her fantasy as much as to the real man she was currently waiting for contact from. Pushing her face down against the bed she inserted two fingers into herself and gave out a moan again, pumping her fingers with a fast pace. As much pleasure as she was getting from this now she wondered why she hadn't suggested it to him when they were together, the thought causing her body to heat up faster from the excitement. Her hips began to quiver as she felt herself getting close again and bent her head down ward to let her hand push in as rhythmically as she could. Before long she was letting a pleasured shout into her bed sheets as her hand and thighs were now wet from her little exercise.

Misty stayed in that position, her body having climaxed her mind was still on the beach with the blond man and his ocean blue eyes. Slowly her hand slid down against her thigh onto the bed and she collapsed onto her side, catching her breath from her little work out. She stretched against her pillow in a way that Volkner would have thought was extremely seductive had he been privileged to see it and yawned a bit. "Well... at least you made me feel a little bit better. Even if you're not here." She pouted again feeling a mixture of happiness and depression that they were so far apart. "All I want is a little... oh, email!" Misty's behavior took a 180 degree turn when she saw there was a new email on her screen. Springing up from her bed and not bothering with the towel she moved over to her computer chair to read what had been sent to her.

-Dear Misty,

-I hope you got back home safely and this finds you well. Clean up after the

-party went by pretty fast and everything around here is back to normal already.

-If you want to I'm going to be around later tonight. I know you just got home

-but if you want to call me you can feel free to do so. Oh and Raichu never got

-a chance to meet you. So he wanted to send you a proper greeting! Hope this

-picture is good enough.

Misty opened the attached picture and couldn't help but giggle to herself. Volkner was sitting on his bed holding up his Raichu, who looked dazed as if he'd just been woken up and rather cute confused expression. Volkner was smiling in the photo as well and looked a bit awkward in the picture, but it just made her smile more. "Maybe I should send him a picture back?" She smirked to herself.

"Was that so hard?" Flint asked with a smile to his friend. Volkner was sitting on the bed petting his Raichu after he'd just roused him from his sleep for a photo session. Volkner essentially came up with what he considered to be a pretty fast and plain email. Taking the picture was Flint's idea and he was hoping she liked it but he was already regretting it.

"I look goofy as hell in that photo."

"You look goofy as hell all the time. She seemed to like you in person, what makes you think a photo will scare her more than your face?" Flint laughed and Volkner gave a little scowl at him.

"Funny. I dunno, I'm just worried it came off a bit too generic you know? Not really a show stopper?"

"Dude, your worrying too much. Generic aint bad. You don't wanna set the bar so high for yourself you can't ever send her a generic email." That in an odd way made sense. Maybe he should focus less on acting cool and just be himself. Himself seemed to be cool enough, at least a bunch of high-schoolers thought so anyway. Oh yeah, that reminded him.

"So lets see your fan site." Flint's eyes went wide like a deer in the headlights again. Volkner was way too curious now to just let it go. "Seriously, whats the problem? Is it like sad or something?" He smirked a bit and got up to go search but Flint stopped him before he could pull it up.

"Alright alright fine! I'll show it to you, but you gotta swear you wont say anything?" Volkner raised an eyebrow and wondered what it could possibly be. But he was too curious to decline so he agreed to Flint's terms. He watched as his friend entered his own name into the search engine and pulled up what was actually not that bad looking of a site. That is until Volkner finally noticed the address and title of this particular fan page.

"Is that... ?"

"Yeah... yeah that is."

"So um... is this a..."

"Yes... yes it is."

"...so... um... are you a..."

"You promised not to say anything!" Volkner put his hands up in surrender when Flint heated up in the response. He scrolled over the web page and there was no way to deny it; this was a gay site. It was almost subtle in a way. Clearly it was a site for Pokemon trainers, and it was themed around Flint and Fire-Type Pokemon. On the whole this would be rather harmless if it wasn't for a few of the banners with the rainbow colored symbols and the clear gay pride links associated with the site. Also right on the front page was a picture of Flint arm and arm with several men posing for the shot. It wouldn't be so bad except for the banner behind him with the words 'Flint's Flamers' listed and the two male symbols on either side of it.

"Okay... I'm sorry but I gotta ask this one. If your not, then why are you so happy looking in this picture?" Volkner couldn't hold back the smile as he saw how much this was getting under Flint's skin. "I mean you are just thrilled in this picture, and you got your arms around both these guys shoulders. And that banner!"

"Look I didn't know! Okay. These guys come up to me and they let me know who they are and that they're all big fans of mine. On top of that they're all Fire-Type trainers and asked if I'd talk with them. You know what, they were pretty cool guys too. Spent my afternoon hanging out with them. At the end of the night they asked if I'd pose in a picture with them for their website and I figured why not? I already liked them, might as well support my fans." It all sounded pretty logical except one part that was bugging Volkner.

"Okay, I get that. But dude... that banner. I mean... the whole male arrow symbol thing. It didn't tip you off?"

"I didn't pay attention, I just figured they were tough guys you know? How the hell should I know I'd be so popular in the gay community? Apparently wearing a colored Afro like mine is called 'The Flint.'" Volkner blinked and looked at the site a little bit more. Over all it seemed harmless enough, not like there was anything bad written here. Still it was just funny. "So yeah, I got fans. Just a very specialized section apparently." Volkner shrugged, it wasn't bad but it was just so funny. He'd never thought of Flint as a role model for anyone let alone a whole community of a sexual orientation.

"So... get any numbers yourself?"

"Okay, that's enough of that." Flint closed the website and Volkner busted up laughing.

"I'm sorry! It's just your so happy looking in that picture! It wouldn't even be funny if it wasn't for the fact you didn't know!"

"Least all the people on my fan site are over eighteen years old." It didn't even cause Volkner to let up. The chime of his email getting a response caught the attention of both of them however. "Well looks like your not girlfriend replied." Flint pulled up the email so they could both read her response.

-Hey, thanks for sending me your email. Yeah I got home okay, thanks for

-checking up on me. ^.^ Oh and thanks for saying what you did at the party. My

-friend Brock figured out what happened but it's okay. He's a good friend of mine and

-he wont go talking to everyone about it if you wanted to keep it secret. Your Raichu

-is so cute! Wish I could have met him. I guess the least I can do is send a picture

-back for him. But I think your going to enjoy it more than he will. I'm going to call

-you tonight then around 9:00 so hope that's okay.

"Looks like she sent me a picture back." Volkner opened it up and regretted doing so in front of Flint shortly after. Misty must have just gotten out of the shower since her hair seemed to be a little wet, but that really wasn't where their eyes were being drawn to. The other sign she had gotten out of the shower was the lack of clothes she was wearing on her upper body, which was visible aside from the stuffed Staryu doll that was hiding all the really good parts that both men's eyes were drawn to. After the initial shock of what they were looking at Volkner shot a glare at Flint and closed the picture, noticing even he had a little blush on his cheeks from seeing that. "Don't think you were supposed to see that." He said with a little bit of defensiveness in his voice.

"Well um... you know... I'm apparently gay and she's not your girlfriend, so if you want to pull that back up you can feel free to do so. For your own enjoyment of course."

"Go to hell Flint." There was a moment of silence between them again, and once again Flint was kind enough to break it.

"Going to save that picture at least huh?"

"Already on it." Right click and save!


	3. Reconnect

About three months of time passed between Volkner and Misty as they proceeded to email and call each other when time allowed for the two of them. Flint had been right about not trying to be a cool guy when ever he spoke with her and the two were becoming comfortable with each other. They shared stories of their pasts, their adventures and the various gym battles and challengers they'd meet. Volkner was actually quite impressed with Misty's stories about her travels on the road with Brock and some other boy. Misty had played off the adventures as nothing more than her having fun and escaping her work but it was all still quite interesting to him.

Sharing their feelings and enjoyment with each other was nice, and the occasional sexy picture didn't hurt things either for the two of them. Still so much time apart was becoming difficult and over time even Volkner was beginning to feel a yearning in himself to be with her again. Misty couldn't deny she was the same, and had been feeling this way much earlier than Volkner himself. But their responsibilities made it hard for them to be near each other, never mind the distance or cost of travel. However desperation can turn a man's resolve into steel and Volkner's mind and heart were becoming determined enough that risks were becoming less of a concern to him. He didn't want to wait any longer. And he didn't intend to. "Misty... I want to be together again."

"Well... Volkner I want that to." She said a bit surprised over the phone. Despite how often they had talked to each other over the past few months he was still rarely so forward about his feelings. "But it's not that easy. I can't just fly out there again to see you." She said with a little despair in her voice. She'd wanted to walk on that beach again with him so badly it made her heart want to burst. But reality was harsh, and she couldn't afford such a task so easily. "I would if I could, you know that."

"So why don't I just come to you?" He spoke with a confidence that it made Misty actually sit up on her bed.

"Do you mean that!?"

"Well I've been working it out for a while now, I think I could arrange a visit for a week. That is if you have the time to see me?" Did she have the time, she'd make the damn time! This was all sounding too good to be true. "I don't really know when but this month I want to find a way to do it." Misty was trying not to hold out too much for this possibility but her fingers wouldn't let go of the bed sheets as she gripped them tightly. "So if I show up on your doorstep one day, would you let me in?"

"YES!" Okay maybe that was a bit too eager but she was excited, give her a break. "I mean.. um... yes I would definitely be there for you if you came." She was smiling a lot to herself thinking it may happen, hugging her Staryu pillow tightly to her body. "How are you going to do it though? Don't you have to stay for your gym and running the city?"

"Oh don't worry about that. This city doesn't need me that badly, it's got lots of talented engineers. And I've even figured out a way to keep the gym open with me gone. Although I just have to make some arrangements while I'm away." Misty thought about this a bit then felt compelled to ask.

"Your not going to just pass out the badges again are you?" Volkner laughed when she suggested it.

"Well that idea did occur to me, but no I got an idea in mind that will take care of everything."

"Well, okay. Just don't want you to do anything that will be bad for your gym." Volkner made another little chuckle at the statement and reassured her.

"Not at all, after all the time I put into it there's nothing I'd do to treat it badly. Well I should go make preparations though. I'll let you know when I have things set up, okay?"

"Okay. Um... I love you Volkner." She gripped her Staryu pillow against her body tighter when she said it.

"I love you too." They'd managed to speak those words to each other about a month ago. It had been a little awkward at first but they'd both come along enough they felt to be able to speak the words aloud. "Have a good night." Volkner hung up the phone. Misty waited till he was off the line before throwing herself back onto the bed and kicking a fit in the air with happy laughter. He was coming here! He was planning on coming here to see her! She'd been a little worried when she agreed to pursue a long distance relationship with someone but now it felt like it was all going to pay off. Her body rolled back and forth with the stuffed toy in her arms before settling onto her side and closing her eyes. Soon... soon she'd get to see him again.

**********

When the next morning came Misty was up and about just as cheerful as could be. Her sisters had noticed the sudden increase in her mood and it was too curious of a situation not to inspect. Violet was putting out breakfast for everyone while the other two were watching Misty closely as she ate away at her morning meal. Lily broke the silence as she gazed over at Misty. "So Sis, seems like your in a totally great mood today." Misty blinked looking up between the girls as all eyes happened to be on her. She grinned sheepishly and played dumb to them.

"Oh well... you know it's a good morning! Isn't it!? We should all feel so good every morning." She laughed trying to play off her good mood and went back to eating her breakfast. The girls looked between each other again and directed their attention in unison at Misty.

"You've been around the gym a lot lately. Seems like you haven't done any kind of dating at all." Misty swallowed her food trying to ignore Lily's observation.

"I know, right? She just seems to spend her time around the gym all day then goes up to her room and talks on the phone or on her computer." Lily and Violet were going back and forth now and Misty was just trying to get through her breakfast without letting anything on. She hadn't shared her story about Volkner with her sisters for this very reason and didn't need them getting all up in her business with him.

"So did you meet a hot guy while you were in Sinnoh?" Misty choked on her orange juice when Daisy chimed in finally at the table, all of her sisters attention fixated on her now. She wasn't sure how to answer but just grumbled to herself.

"Do you guys always have to get in my business when I date someone? How come you never get on each others nerves with this kind of stuff!?" She didn't like being teased by her big sisters, especially since they rarely helped out around the gym for things other than entertainment. She was the only really skilled gym leader and the three girls were essentially riding her talent as far as Misty was concerned.

"Yeah right, we talk about our dates with each other all the time."

"Totally."

"For sure!" When they started going on like this it almost didn't matter which one spoke, her sisters felt interchangeable at times. Daisy didn't lose her focus however and kept smiling at Misty with the most innocent face in the world. "So what's his name?" Misty grumbled and wanted to lay her head down in her scrambled eggs and hide away from all of this.

"Okay okay, he's some guy I met while I was in Sinnoh. We've been talking ever since. It's not a big deal." Daisy seemed happy with the response but Violet and Lily had a more sly smile about them, knowing their little sister better than she thought. "Are you guys happy now?"

"We were always happy for you little Sis." Lily chimed in and rubbed Misty's back, which did feel comforting to get from her big sister in a way despite the teasing. "We just want to know what your up to so we can watch out for you." Misty felt a bit embarrassed having her sisters see through her so easily. Was she really so bad at hiding things? Daisy came up on the other side of her with the same innocent look on her face.

"Besides if your new boyfriend is super cute I want to meet him!" Misty groaned a bit and rolled her eyes, maybe bringing Volkner here wasn't such a good idea.

"Okay girls that's like enough for now. Misty totally has a lot of work to do today and she's going to need her breakfast for the gym challenges, kay." Violet shooed the other girls away as Daisy was a bit upset that she didn't get a chance to get an answer. "Oh you should like get us a picture though Misty. I wanna see if he's cute too." The girls laughed together in unison while Misty blushed, this was too much. Volkner... save me.

**********

"You've got nothing to worry about dude, I can totally handle this." Volkner was looking at Flint with a little concern but he'd been the one to ask this favor of him in the first place. "It'll be kind of fun running a gym for a change of pace."

"And your sure that this wont cause any conflict with the other Elite Four members?" Volkner was in mid process of packing a few items into a duffel bag as he was preparing himself for his trip.

"Not in the least. Hey, they can't complain if no one can beat the gym leader to get to them in the first place, right?" Flint smirked with a cocky grin as Volkner rolled his eyes and zipped up the bag. It had been only a week since he had his talk with Misty about coming to visit and his plans were moving along more swiftly than he anticipated. Flint had been more than helpful in willingness to take over the gym during his absence and Volkner was prepared to head out and meet up with her again. Maybe he was rushing into this but he didn't really care, after all he wanted more than anything just to spend some time with her again and the sooner they did so the better he'd feel about it. Picking up his Pokeballs he attached them one by one to his belt clips while Raichu jumped off the bed to follow along. Raichu didn't like being inside his Pokeball if he didn't have to and Volkner intended to let him walk freely up until the point the airport forced him to ride in his ball. "So did you happen to let anyone else know about this?" Volkner stopped to consider that question and knew where he was going with it.

"I didn't tell any of the other gym leaders if that's what your asking. They can just read my notice on the web page if they're really interested." Volkner didn't give much mind to the question but Flint could tell he was avoiding addressing the obvious issue here. He followed Volkner out of his room as they walked through the battle area of the gym to get to the main lobby.

"So I take it she still doesn't know huh?" Volkner let out a sigh and put his bag down facing his friend.

"No, she doesn't. And it's not any of her business regardless." Flint crossed his arms with a disapproving look making Volkner feel a bit exasperated. "I don't have to say anything to her or anyone else for that matter. I'm allowed to live my life how I please."

"I'm not saying you can't, it's just you know eventually this is going to start coming back to them and just... you should be prepared man. I know things didn't work out too well when you and Gardenia broke up." Volkner grumbled, he didn't want to think about that right now. "But we all work together still, know each other still, so you should probably have something figured out for when they start asking why your hanging out with this other red-headed hottie that isn't her." Volkner let out a sigh.

"Your right... your right. I know your right, I just don't want anything to cause problems right now." Flint didn't look too satisfied with the answer but he was going to have to settle for it. Volkner didn't intend on addressing this further. "Right now we're still two people living in two different areas and neither Gardenia or any of the other gym leaders need to be involved with that business. So if I can I'd like to leave them out of this just to be sure they don't cause any trouble."

"Guess I'm inclined to agree there. You know how chicks love to cause trouble."

"Yeah, guess your lucky you don't have to go through it huh?" It was another little jab at his site and Volkner let out a laugh when Flint gave him a dirty look. "Thanks again Flint, this means a lot to me." Flint gave him a supportive clasp on the shoulder nodding to his buddy.

"Don't even mention it, like I said I think I'm going to have fun here. Just hope your fans wont all ditch you once they see who the new sheriff in town is." Volkner smiled at that. There was a bit of underlying desire for Flint that Volkner could see here; showing up his rival. After the little show of who had more fansites against one another Flint had been focused on finding a new way to beat his blond opponent and stealing some of his fangirls was the perfect way to do it.

"I wont hold my breath. Just don't lose to anyone, wouldn't look good on the gym if our new special temporary gym leader got trounced while I was away to keep the place in shape." Flint made a dismissive noise but it was all in fun. The two waved to each other as Volkner was about to exit his home when a thought occurred to him. "Oh, if anyone does happen to ask where I am, just let them know I went to Kanto to check out the area there." Flint shrugged a bit.

"Don't you think that'll still seem kind of obvious?"

"Doesn't matter, as long as we don't admit to anything we're fine. Especially to you know who." Flint nodded again.

"Okay okay, lips are sealed! Now get out of here, your hogging all my spot light for when all my new fans come into here looking for me." Volkner smiled and waved as he left the gym behind onto his new adventure.

It was actually fairly uneventful traveling through Sunyshore to the airport. Security check-in went by easily, Volkner got to his gate on time, and before you knew it he was already traveling to the Kanto region. He looked out the window to the waters and clouds passing by double checking all of his thoughts. He was leaving behind the familiar and traveling into the unknown for a promise at a smile and the chance to hold her hand in his again. After these three months it had felt like an eternity and he'd been thinking on this chance again in the back of his mind quite consistently. But now that the reality was setting in he was getting a bit nervous. He actually hadn't told her he was coming out so soon. He wanted to surprise her, possibly show up and pretend to be a challenger for a badge just to see the look on her face. Now he was hoping that he wasn't imposing on her just showing up out of the blue like this. Oh well... he had three hours to go over all these worries in his head. He'd address them when the plane landed.

**********

Misty groaned when she began to fumble her way out of her covers to find her clock on the night stand. Looking up and regretfully reading the time as 9:00 AM she knew her body was making her wake up on schedule. Last night she'd found some new flash game online that was super-addictive and she'd stayed up way too late trying to get to the highest level she could. Now that the sunlight was rolling in she was regretting her decision. In about a half hour the gym would officially open up to challenges and she was supposed to be at least semi-awake to battle any challengers. Maybe no one would come today. Maybe today would be an easy day and she could just ignore anybody that came her way. Yeah... it's not like the gym is always super busy, there are days where no one comes at all for a battle. Anything else her sisters could handle themselves. Yawning and feeling justified in this excuse she set her alarm for 10:00 AM instead and rolled back up in the sheets to enjoy another snooze. It was short lived however as around 9:17 AM a knock on her bedroom door awoke her to the world again. "Misty, are you up yet?" She could hear Daisy's voice calling out to her in that innocent tone again. She tried to ignore it but the knocking persisted as Daisy repeatedly called out to her apparently not willing to walk away from this door without a response. Grumbling Misty climbed out of bed and grabbed a t-shirt to throw over herself so she was halfway decent. When she opened the door Daisy stood before her bubbly as ever. "Oh great, your like awake." No kidding. "There's a guy here to challenge you to a battle, so um... yeah. You should get down here." Misty looked between her sister and the bed trying to decide which was more important, the bed calling out very convincingly.

"Can't you tell him to just wait a while? I mean we don't even officially open for another ten minutes." She wiped some of the sleep out of her eyes but didn't want to get too awake as she was eager to lay down again.

"But he totally asked for you by name." Big deal, not like the other girls were known for battling. "Well okay, like I guess I'll tell him to get outta here. If you see him later his name was like Volter, or something." As Daisy turned to walk down the stairs again Misty suddenly became very awake and grabbed onto Daisy's arm before she could escape.

"Wait... was he blond?" Daisy's eyes told the story already when Misty asked the question.

"Totally, yeah! Good guess!" Misty began to wake up at light speeds as realization was setting in.

"You mean his name was Volkner, right?"

"Oh yeah, that's it. Do you know him or something?"

"Do not let him leave!" Misty hugged onto Daisy suddenly and ran right back into her bedroom closing the door behind herself. She imagined Daisy must have been pretty confused after all that but it didn't matter as long as she kept him busy! He was here, he was downstairs, right now! She had to shower, she had to get dressed! She had to figure out what she was going to wear! Gym battle... he was trying to tease her she bet. Clever Volkner, but Misty was going to be prepared. She just had to make sure that he stayed put down there. Alone with her sisters. Hm. "I better hurry."

After a quick shower, drying and dressing session Misty threw on a yellow skirt and white tank top combination with some white knee-socks, checking herself in the mirror. She didn't know what she'd be walking into but didn't want to seem too tomboyish or overly-dressed. When she was satisfied finally with her appearance she opened the door and began carefully walking down stairs, feeling her heart thump in her chest. She was excited but scared, he had tried to sneak in to surprise her obviously and now she wasn't ready for any of this. She could hear them sitting around in the living room area and tried to sneak up so she could over-hear their conversation. Misty wasn't one to normally eavesdrop on people but with her sisters down there she wanted to be prepared for whatever they were saying to him. Violet was currently the one talking first.

"So like your actually a gym leader? That's sooo cool. I can't believe we've all got that in common." Misty rolled her eyes a bit. They were all gym leaders? What's the last battle you won Violet? "What type of Pokemon do you like?"

"Actually I use primarily Electric-Types myself." There he was, that was his voice! He was actually here! Misty hugged her legs a bit as she sat on the stairs listening in and hearing him talk. Was she ready for this? She hoped she was ready for this. "Most of the town's power supply was designed by me so I have a natural inclination towards Electric-Type."

"Electric-Type huh? That's so not compatible with Water-Type." Misty frowned at that comment from Lily. What was she trying to say? "I'm surprised you came all this way to hang with Misty. Seems like you guys wouldn't have similar interests." Don't say that! Why are you saying that!?

"Well I don't know about that. One of my Pokemon is a Lanturn which is a Water-Electric Type. He's managed to take two types that are normally opposed and combined them into a powerful advantage. If you can make it work it's an unstoppable duo." Misty felt like giggling to herself but kept it inside. That was so sweet. Well actually he was just talking about one of his Pokemon but with some imagination he could be talking about them. The unstoppable duo. Lily made a little noise that sounded a bit like she was dismissing Volkner but really it meant she couldn't argue the point anymore. Deciding now was as good a time as any Misty took a few steps down the stairs and into the living room.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting!" Misty tried to sound bubbly kind of like Daisy in a way when she appeared, acting as innocent as she could. Violet had a look in her eyes like she could tell her sister had been spying but kept it to herself. Volkner looked up with a bit of surprise and happiness mixed together. It had been months and here they were, together again at last. Misty was holding in her excitement so as not to appear to goofy around her sisters. Volkner stood up a bit awkwardly as he walked over to her.

"Hey Misty, it's been a while, hasn't it?" There was a small sound of hesitation in his voice that made her grin in a way she couldn't hide.

"Yeah, it has." She looked past him to her sisters and waved them off. "Well we better be going, I'm sure Volkner wants to see the town." She tried to lead him out before the other girls could start a conversation but it was pretty difficult. Daisy being the first to chime in and slow their escape.

"But didn't he want to have a battle with you?" Misty rolled her eyes while she was facing away from her sisters then turned back with a put on smile.

"Oh that... that can wait! That's not important to you right now, right Volkner?" She glanced up at him with an expression telling him to agree. Volkner was actually a bit caught off guard by her expression but fell in line pretty quickly nodding in agreement.

"So what about the other challengers today? Are you going to just ignore them as well?" Misty was growing annoyed pretty quickly as all she wanted to do was escape her sisters and get some time alone together with her man that she's been fantasizing about for three straight months now! Okay, just remain calm. She turned to Violet with the same put on smile and answered calmly.

"Oh it shouldn't be a problem. After all like you said we're all gym leaders here. I'm sure one of you would be happy to take my place." The suggestion made all three girls cringe as they quickly shot glances around at each other trying to decide who to pin this responsibility on. While they were Misty took her chance and grabbed Volkner's hand pulling him towards the door to leave the house. She saw him wave and spout a "nice to meet you" before she'd forced them to escape the clutches of her curious sisters. Once they were safely outside the two were walking a short ways as Volkner looked like he was trying to come up with something to say.

"So... your sisters seem nice." He turned to her with a smile but was met with a kiss as Misty literally threw herself at him and embraced her arms around his neck. Volkner was flustered but managed to fall into the kiss along with her and it felt very similar to the last encounter the two had together on the beach. Misty held them like that for as long as she felt comfortable to do so then parted the kiss, looking embarrassed.

"I'm... I'm sorry. It's just it's been so long and... well... your here!" She said with an excited giggle that she couldn't hold in anymore. Volkner was grinning to in that charming way he managed to do naturally as they took each others hands and walked further along the roads of Cerulean. "I guess it was kind of rude of me huh? Running out on my sisters like that?"

"I can understand. Some of my friends can be a bit embarrassing a times too and you can feel the need to escape." Misty's fingers gripped around his hand in a small squeeze, she was just too happy for words at the moment. "I hope they don't mind me taking you out of the gym for the day."

"Can't say I'm too worried about it. Let them handle it for a change, be good to get them to work on their battling skills." She was walking with no real destination in mind and was trying to think. Where should they go? "So um... I'm not sure what you wanted to do really? I mean you just got here right? So I could show you around town... or we could go to the beach... or maybe you wanted to get some souvenirs?" As she was trying to think her tummy made a rumbling sound loud enough for Volkner to hear. She blushed a little embarrassed and rubbed her stomach. "I guess I didn't get breakfast." Volkner smirked and gave her hand a small squeeze back.

"Well care to show me the finest breakfast that Cerulean has to offer?" Misty nodded with some enthusiasm and lead Volkner on their way. It wasn't too far that they had to walk really, just a bit into town where the main street was. While Misty was leading the way she noticed a couple of the locals taking notice to her walking with the new blond man and felt a sense of pride. Let them look, let them talk, let them be jealous of her. After all she had every right to show this off to the town and intended to do so. Unlike how her and Volkner had been trapped by questions at the party back in Sunyshore here they could be as open with each other as they pleased. Arriving at the small cafe she got them a table fairly quickly and was seated on the patio so they could continue to enjoy the fresh air of the day. To think not more than an hour ago she was rolling out of bed half awake, now she was here having breakfast with him! It was like she had never woken up at all and was still in a pleasant dream. She was so far in this fantasy that she didn't notice the reality of Volkner speaking to her. When she blinked and came back she apologized and asked him to repeat himself. "I was just wondering if you were okay that I had shown up out of the blue like this?"

"Okay? I'm better than okay! This is the best surprised anyone has ever given me." Volkner smirked again getting her praise. "It was a little unexpected I have to admit. I didn't really intend on getting up this early when you showed up to challenge me to a battle, but it was the best way I've ever gotten out of bed. Well... at least for now." She smiled at him coyly which got a blush out of Volkner. Misty noted that maybe she should dial it back a bit, she didn't want to come off too strong. It was just hard when she was this excited! "I'm just surprised you got out here so fast."

"Yeah well it took some putting together but when you said you wouldn't mind me showing up I wanted to make it happen as soon as possible." She smiled at him a little dreamy like, he was soooo sweet! And totally hot, and like such an amazing trainer, and... okay she really had to control herself. She could feel some of her sisters influence slipping into her thoughts when she was this excited. After a bit the waitress brought them some orange juice and took their orders. Misty got something a bit light, she didn't want to over eat in front of him despite her appetite allowing for more. Volkner was a bit conservative too making her wonder if it was for her sake or if he was always like that. He was still so mysterious to her.

"I hope this trip isn't costing you a lot. I mean as the only trainer in the city isn't that kind of your only source of income?" She inquired now just thinking about the fact they were eating out after he traveled all this way. Volkner seemed to dismiss it though.

"It's just fine, I had more than enough saved up for this and I get extra kick backs from the city for all the work I do with the power supply there. Besides I've taken care of the gym while I'm gone so it wont be a problem." Misty eyed him a bit when he said that.

"Your not just giving badges away again, right?"

"No no, it's still all legit. I managed to find a perfect replacement for while I'm away."

**********

"Booooooooored." Flint sighed looking up at the ceiling. He'd been here all morning and not a single person had shown up to challenge him. Was this really what Volkner did all day? No wonder they guy got so involved with all the electronics stuff. He'd have to have some kind of hobby to keep from going crazy. He'd considered going to Volkner's room to web surf at least but he didn't want to be out of the room when someone did finally show up so here he was stuck on a bench by the gym battle floor. Infernape was keeping himself occupied with a kick ball they'd found digging around through some of the supplies and was knocking it back and forth across the gym floor just for fun. Flint had tried to convince himself that most of the trainers in the area were probably high school kids who weren't out of class yet and that would be the reason things were so dead right now. Still though... this wasn't as cool as he was hoping. He felt some movement against his foot as the ball rolled to him and Infernape came walking up looking at his master. "Oh hey buddy, wanna play some ball till things get interesting?" The Pokemon nodded and Flint got up for them to toss and kick the ball back and forth. At least his Pokemon were having some fun while he was here.

Shortly after they heard what was clearly the door to the lobby of the gym open. Finally! "Alright, this is it! Okay buddy, just like we practiced." The Infernape nodded and tossed the ball aside for now as they both took their spot on the far side of the battle floor. Turning their backs to the door way, Flint crossed his arms in what he was sure was a cool pose. Heh, that's right, come on in here looking for the gym leader. He couldn't wait to hear their shock. When the foot steps started getting closer her winked down at Infernape and started on his speech. "I'm guessing you must be surprised, challenger. After all I'm sure you came in here expecting the gym leader Volkner. Well sorry, but he's out of town for now. It's your lucky day though. Not everyone gets to battle one of the Elite Four this early in the game." Flint was smirking so wide he could barely contain himself. The foot steps had already stopped. Maybe it was a whole group of people? No it was just one set of foot steps, but that was fine. Let them come and challenge him, go tell all their friends and come back in droves. This would be the start of his new fan base! "So if your still willing to try, if you still got the guts, step forward trainer and I'll gladly meet your challenge." He decided now was the perfect time to turn and face his opponent. Maybe it would even be some babe to greet him. Infernape turned with him in unison (they'd been practicing for most the morning) to see their first customer!

"Wow... don't tell me you rehearsed that." Indeed it was a strong trainer, and a pretty woman to boot. Still she was past the high school age and was less than a favorable face to see for his first guest of the day. Flint's smile dropped like a rock when he finally got a good look at her.

"Oh, hey Gardenia." Flint grumbled and looked at the floor. Geez, all that freaking effort wasted on another gym leader! He hoped Infernape would be up for another speech later. Wait a minute. "Wait a minute." The heck was Gardenia doing in Sunyshore? "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in Eterna City running your gym?" Gardenia looked around the gym for a moment as if she was sizing up the place, walking towards the challenger's spot from the gym floor.

"Decided to close it for just a bit while I came up for a visit." Flint raised an eyebrow as Gardenia was still looking around the gym floor like she was searching for something.

"A visit huh? Just like that? Seems kind of a long ways to travel for just a visit." Her light amber eyes stopped wandering around the gym when he spoke and rested on him. Flint didn't like this, of all the people to show up while Volkner was gone it seemed a bit unlikely that she would just be stopping by randomly.

"It's not really that far at all. I was a little curious as to what was going on when the Sunyshore website stated that there was a new gym leader here. So I came to see for myself." Flint was still a bit suspicious.

"So how exactly did you..."

"I'm on the mailing list for the website, all the gym leaders are. We get notices for things like this." Hmmm... it made sense but that didn't make him feel any better about her suddenly showing up. Flint always felt a bit weird around Gardenia, and it wasn't just due to him using Fire-Type Pokemon and her using plant-types. Ever since her and Volkner had the break up it was always a little tense between them, like they were trying to ignore the fact that something had been there once. So for Flint being Volkner's friend meant he had to be cautious around his ex-girlfriend. It didn't help that Gardenia was quite the sexy woman, even though she spent most her time out in the woods and getting dirty in her garden. She had a very rugged, natural beauty about her and as Flint would put it very complimentary curves. Not that the two of them would have dated anyway but she was totally off-limits as his buddy's ex-girl so it made things that much more tense. "Where is Volkner anyway?"

"Decided to take a little vacation." She clearly wasn't looking for a battle so he went back over to the bench and took a seat, this was a sign to Infernape that they wouldn't be working and he went back to playing with the ball from earlier which got a little giggle out of Gardenia when she saw him.

"So he went on vacation just like that? Didn't tell us, I figured he was just working on something in the town that needed attention." She wandered over and sat on the other end of the bench from Flint, who was playing it cool and leaning back against the wall like nothing was getting to him. "Where did he go off to anyway?"

"Kanto region." He didn't look but he could feel her posture changing on the bench, she was getting curious. Okay okay this is still cool. Just like Volkner said all they gotta do is keep to the story and everything is fine. "Said something about wanting to check out the gyms and region. Asked if I could take over so the gym didn't have to close down." Gardenia was sitting straight up now but Flint was still playing it like Mr. Cool. Don't show any weakness.

"So, he went there huh?" Her tone already suggested she knew why, but he didn't have to admit it. "Did he say where he'd be stopping by while he was traveling."

"Nope." And just for an added bonus. "Don't know Kanto too well, couldn't tell you much about where he'd be anyway. Sorry." He felt Gardenia's posture change and her eyes looking on him but he was not gonna break.

"So you don't know anything about where he went off to?" Man was she persistent. Flint thought about commenting on the fact she seemed a bit too concerned with Volkner considering their relationship but thought better of it. Having her around was one thing, having her around and angry would just be terrible.

"Naw, didn't give me any details. Just asked me to cover for him. As a buddy I figured I would you know."

"Yeah, you guys always were good friends, huh?" That almost had a little bit of a sad tone to it which made Flint look up at her. Geez, this was just uncomfortable. He never wanted things to be weird between them but with the way break ups go... it's just the way of things he guessed. Gardenia was watching Infernape play for a bit as there was an awkward silence. Flint decided this wasn't getting either of them anywhere so he decided maybe it was time to push her out in case a real challenger did show up.

"Yeah. Well... sorry you came all this way for nothing but if you need any whoa!" He blinked and sat up as Gardenia started to lift her poncho off. Normally she wore a small green poncho over her upper body that showed off her midriff. It was cute but it didn't show too much of herself. With the poncho off the tight black shirt she wore underneath was revealed which was giving a pretty good view of the shape of her complimentary curves that he'd acknowledged earlier. Without the poncho on they were pretty much impossible to ignore.

"Oh sorry, I guess your Infernape makes it pretty warm in here compared to normal huh?" She smiled in a fairly innocent way but he wasn't buying it... at least he didn't think he was. She wasn't the kind of girl to use those tactics... right? "So what were you saying about 'any whoa' that I needed?"

"Nothing, never mind." Flint tried playing it like Mr Cool again but it wasn't so easy this time. "So um... yeah well... sorry about him not being around and all."

"Oh it's okay, I'm just glad everything's fine." She smiled and cupped her hands on her lap, making her chest push out further when her arms came together. Flint was beginning to regret he ever found those pictures of her gardening in a bikini top on the internet. "So when do you think he'll be back?"

"... what? Oh um... " Okay look at her eyes! Sheesh. "Probably in a week or so. He didn't really say when but asked that I cover for that long at least." Gardenia nodded as if she was considering those words. He wasn't too sure what was going on in her head anymore as she had a thoughtful look about her.

"Guess it was a waste of time coming out here huh?" She gave a weak smile at him, wringing her hands a little bit. "It was probably a mistake anyway. I mean he's more than capable of handling himself, in lots of situations." Flint sighed, this was getting past the uncomfortable zone now. "I mean... I'm sorry to bug you with all of this."

"It's okay, I mean... not like I had any other challengers anyway right now, right?" He tried to chuckle a bit to lighten the mood for them and she smiled in appreciation.

"Thanks Flint. Just sometimes I don't feel like I'm welcome in here anymore you know?" There was that sad tone again. Flint knew it was kind of dangerous talking about Volkner with her right now but he didn't want to leave her feeling sad like this. He tried to muster up something to reassure her.

"Well I wouldn't say that, I mean we're all gym leaders together. Heck even I'm one right now!" He gave another reassuring cheesy grin at her and she smiled back, stretching herself a bit and pushing the complimentary curves forward in a more noticeable manner. Okay, focus man. Keep the eyes up. "So I got a feeling your welcome to walk in through those doors when ever you please."

"Yeah but... even if gym leaders are allowed to come in here, feels like it's different for me specifically." Flint tried to think of a way to counter that statement again, racking his brain for words that were supportive but didn't lead her on too much towards him.

"Well if anything I think your allowed in here more than others. I mean Volkner is pretty selective about who he lets hang around him so you should feel privileged." He tired to give it an upward tone to cheer her up but it didn't seem to take. "I mean, it's like you were allowed to meet a prerequisite he has or something for who he lets keep his company. Maybe it's the red hair?" Seemed like a good enough statement as any. Sure his was a much brighter red in comparison to Gardenia's hair but she was still technically a red head.

"So your saying Volkner has a thing for red heads?" She tilted her head looking over at him in a kind of cute, innocent way.

"Well yeah, I'd put money on it. I mean if this vacation of his is any indication he practically has a fetish for red heads." It actually took a moment for Flint himself to realize what he'd just said, and there was another long awkward silence between the two of them. Flint was trying to keep his face from falling from the smile he'd put on into a look of sheer terror from the information he'd just let slip out. Even Infernape had stopped playing with the ball after he'd spoken that sentence. A bit of time passed and Gardenia pulled her poncho back on over her chest and stood up, nodding to Flint.

"Well thanks for giving me your time Flint, it was sweet of you. I guess I'm going to be heading out now, okay?" Flint could only wave his hand to her as she smiled pleasantly and nodded to him, turning to exit the building. Flint sat there with that look of the fake smile still stuck on his face as he went over the ways he'd managed to let out the one secret he was supposed to keep while he was working here on the very first day no less. He turned and looked at his Infernape who seemed like it was concerned that his master hadn't moved much since that human woman had left.

"Hey buddy." He said to his Pokemon finally finding the strength to speak. "I think everything just went to heck."

**********

"Everything is going so perfectly." Misty smiled hugging onto Volkner's arm and watching the sunset. They were sitting on the cape and the day was winding down to an end. The two had taken the time to get breakfast and from there she'd spent her day giving him a tour of the city. She showed him her favorite spots, stores, all the little local attractions. Afterwords they'd stopped for lunch and to get Volkner's swim trunks so that the two of them could go swimming on the beach without having to be naked this time. She had already put on a bathing suit under her clothes this morning like she normally did when swimming was an option for her during the month. After some fun in the sun and on the beach the two got dressed again and she pulled him out to the cape where she had wanted to take him this whole time but knew she had to wait till it was just right and perfect. Now that they'd caught the sunset in the distance she was happily gripping onto his arm, sitting on the grass together. "Thank you so much for this."

"I should be thanking you." He commented to her still keeping his eyes on the distance. "I don't ever go out like this let alone take vacations. You've given me the kind of day that's rare for me." She giggled to herself and hugged his arm tighter, leaning up to kiss his cheek and watch him smile from it. "So, is this where you take all your dates?" He smiled over at her and Misty suddenly felt embarrassed and looked the other way. Volkner's curiosity peaked when she did and he began to investigate. "Do you really take all your dates up here?"

"No! Well... some of them... in the past. But not since I met you!" She protested and Volkner laughed lightly at her with how defensive she was getting. "It's not nice to laugh at me."

"Sorry sorry, you get such a cute face when your pouty is all." That made her pout more to which Volkner complimented her and kissed her cheek. Well... that made things a little better... but not completely! He hugged her against himself as they watched the sun nearly disappear and as she leaned on him and all was forgiven as she was swept up in the warm feeling she was experiencing. When there was just enough light that the sky was turning a deep purple Volkner sat up and offered his hand. "We should probably get back."

"Yeah, I guess your right." She reluctantly agreed and took his hand, standing up with him. They should start to get home as they'd both spent a lot of energy running around today. She wouldn't trade it for the world though. "Want me to walk you back to your hotel?"

"I think the man is supposed to walk the lady home, is he not?" Misty giggled and did a little curtsy.

"Well then good sir, would you escort this young lady safely home?"

"It would be my honor ma'am." He offered his arm which she took gratefully and they proceeded down the cape and into the woods they'd traveled through to get here. Sometimes there were trainers out here looking to battle or catch Pokemon but with it getting late pretty much everyone had gone inside by now. It was a little spooky but it was private and dark and she felt safe enough just being around him that she didn't care. In a way it reminded her of the night they had taken off together to the beach. What a night that had been, warm and comforting just like this one now. She smiled thinking about it, remembering that day. Till her smile got a bit mischievous.

"Hey Volkner, there was one more thing I wanted to show you." He looked over with a bit of surprise as she took his hand and pulled him off the trail into the woods a ways. She could tell he was confused but he was trusting her so it didn't matter. When they got far enough away that the path was no longer easy to see she stopped and faced him.

"Okay, so what was it you wanted to mmmm!" Her lips cut him off as she kissed him deeply, opening her mouth to allow it to become more passionate right away. They held each other like that for a while, their arms gripping around each other as if they were trying to become as close to one another as was humanly possible. She felt his hands slide down onto her ass and it made her jump just a little but smile too. She broke the kiss finally and looked into his blue eyes.

"You know, trainers only come out into the woods to do one of two things." She smirked a little devilishly and it was enough to make Volkner kiss her lustfully again. His hands trailed down onto her skirt and pulled it up slightly, feeling her ass in ways that made her body tingle with warmth. He hadn't touched her like this earlier, not even on the beach together. It was like he was holding himself back when he was in public with her. Maybe it was to care for her so she didn't get embarrassed but frankly she liked the attention, she didn't mind him showing it any time. Well... maybe not this intense in public, but you know what she meant. Eventually his kiss left her lips and began to trail down her neck, making her moan out for him. Misty was wondering slightly if having sex outside was something she was growing fond of.

"Your body feels so warm." His lips trailed around her neck making her shiver, his lips sucking at her skin. His fingers were rubbing against her ass now and Misty was gripping his jacket hard in her fists from all the teasing. It felt good, so much better than she'd imagined all these months it would have been. Maybe she'd been pent up from not having him for so long but she didn't want to do foreplay forever. Panting she pushed against him a little.

"W-wait... I can... make it better." She breathed out but he kissed her for a while longer anyway and although it was a terrible tease it was turning her on so much. When he finally did let her go she took a deep breath to try and catch herself. Reaching under her skirt she undid the ties for her swim suit and let the bottoms fall to the ground, lifting her skirt up a bit but leaving it on for him. She then turned to a tree and braced herself against it. "I've been wanting to try it this way for a while." It was her favorite position when she was doing it alone, it had to feel good with him. Volkner didn't even question her, she'd gotten him worked up enough that he wasn't going to stop. Unfastening his belt he came up behind her letting both his pants and own swim trunks fall to the grass. Approaching behind her he rubbed the length of his erection between her legs and against her pussy, making her hips rise up to him. "Don't tease... please." It wasn't that she didn't like the friction or the teasing, she just needed him so bad now.

"As you command." She was already wet from just being around him today and eagerly awaiting this moment, so when his erection pushed against her he was able to push it inside her tight folds with minimal effort. Misty let out a loud moan and was happy she'd chosen this location. Being out in the woods let her be as loud as she wanted to, besides she decided that having sex outside really was enjoyable. His fingers slipped under her dress and squeezed her ass, making her body tingle again. Gripping onto her behind he began moving his hips slowly into her, her moans coming out lustfully with his movements. This position really was the best but she was hoping that her legs would hold out for the whole thing. It wasn't long before his hips began to pick up the pace, her moans coming out in little small shouts with each push inside of her. Her upper body was leaning down now as she was putting more weight on the tree to keep herself up to endure his thrusting.

"It's... so good!" She couldn't hold back her words and didn't want to. This had been what she was waiting for and she was happy to receive it. Volkner's hands eventually slide under her tank top and undid her swimsuit top, his hands reaching over her breasts and gripping them. Her fingers clawed into the tree feeling his hands play against her nipples, it was enough to drive her over the edge. "I'm gonna cum... don't stop! Don't stop!" She held onto the tree for dear life as her pussy gripped around him tightly, moaning loud into the night and feeling her body climax. Her hips shook from the excitement and surprisingly she managed to stay on her legs the whole time. She didn't have long though as Volkner was pushing into her again with some heaving thrusting of his own. She held onto the tree even tighter now, still overcome with pleasure but wanting to stay in position for him. It wasn't long after that he pulled out of her, Misty quickly reaching back and hiking her skirt up more so that he could come onto her ass. While she did this she was wondering as well if maybe she was developing an enjoyment for him doing that on her too.

Volkner was using his shirt to wipe it off of her skin and in a way she thought it was kind of sweet, but obviously he should be kind enough to clean up his own mess. When he was done Misty backed up from the tree and fell to her knees gasping for air. "Oh... goodness." It was all she could mutter, when she tried to get on her feet again she feel forward on all fours, panting still. After running around all day together that was more than enough to wear her down. As she was about to get the energy to push herself up agains she felt a familiar feeling coming from behind her as Volkner was pushing inside of her pussy a second time. She let out a surprised moan and looked back at him. "Again! How do you... even have the energy?" Volkner looked tired too but he also looked happy to be inside her again, and to be fair she liked him there too.

"I just couldn't help myself." He smiled and began thrusting into her again, Misty moaning a little lighter this time as she held herself on all fours and spread her legs out further for him to push inside easier. She couldn't believe he had the energy for it, but as long as he was doing the work it was fine with her. As he pushed more into Misty her arms shook and she leaned her upper body down on the grass, pushing her hips up higher and panting loudly. "I hope... you don't mind." He was panting now himself. "But it takes a while for me to cum a second time." No she didn't mind, but she felt like she'd manage to again as well at this rate. It was probably only minutes but it felt like time was going forever for her as he continued to push harder into her, her fingers gripping onto the grass and pulling it out with high pitched moans. She closed her eyes tightly and looked down at the ground as her body shook again with another climax. She could feel it on her thighs now from how hard he was going but it just served to make her more aroused.

"Volkner... when you cum, do it on my chest?" She shly looked back and asked, seeing him just nod to her question as he seemed focused on his task. He really was taking longer which Misty made sure to pay attention to for later to see just how much he could go for. When she felt his body start to shake he pulled out of her, grabbing her hips and helping her flip over. Misty went along willingly and reached up to push her breasts together for him. They wern't enough to cover him but the feeling of him rubbing his erection against her was enough that he came again onto her body, a bit getting on her chin and neck but most falling on her chest which was heaving from all the physical activity. Volkner stayed over her for a bit longer once he was finished, too tired to move. Seemed that second one took a lot out of him. Once he got the energy to move again he slumped off of her and reached for his shirt, cleaning them both up once more. With the mess out of the way Volkner pulled her up to sit next to him and they cuddled together for a bit, smiling at each other.

"So, what was over here that you wanted to show me anyway?" Misty blinked in surprise then punched him lightly in the shoulder.

"Jerk. Don't tease me." He kissed her lips and hugged her tightly.

"Sorry, but I told you that your cute when you pout. Other than that your just plain beautiful all the time." Misty wrapped her arms around him tightly in a hug. She could only describe this as feeling happy. This was the definition right here. They cuddled together in the dark for awhile before they decided that yes they really should get back to their respective beds. Getting up and together Volkner wore his jacket and zipped it up so as to ignore the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt anymore. Misty offered to take it home with her and clean it for him since taking it back to the hotel wouldn't give him access to a washer. Really she was just hoping he'd forget about it and she'd get to keep it for herself. On the way out of the woods Volkner actually carried her in his arms and Misty didn't know where he was getting the energy. Maybe he just wanted to be manly for her as more than a few times it seemed like he was running out of breath. When they actually got to the city it was time to part ways.

"So... tomorrow?" Volkner asked with a bright smile.

"You better come pick me up tomorrow or I'll come looking for you." She grinned back. The two shared another kiss before she ran off back towards the gym.

**********

Volkner strolled pretty casually back towards the hotel. While he looked more than calm on the outside he was actually happy enough to skip on the inside. This very well may have been one of the best days he's ever had in his life. Misty was just so full of life and energy it made him want to work that much harder just to keep up with her. Not to mention she really was beautiful, and their little meeting in the woods had done more to charge his batteries than it did to drain them. He wished it was morning again already just so he could go back out with her and have more fun. Speaking of which he had no idea what they'd do for the rest of the days he was out here but like that mattered. No matter what they did he was more than happy to be there for it. That happiness must have been apparent because the lady at the front desk for his hotel seemed to notice the spring in his step and felt the need to mention it. "Well sir it looks like your enjoying our city."

"One of the best I've ever been to." Volkner smiled, feeling more talkative than usual.

"I'm so glad to hear it. After this trip I'm hoping we'll see a lot more of you."

"That is the plan, believe me ma'am." She seemed just delightful. Why shouldn't she? This was a great town. Okay maybe he was a bit overly-happy due to just having sex with the town's amazingly hot gym leader but that was besides the point. Reaching back to his pocket to pull out his room key to show her for entrance there was a moment of small panic as he started to feel around his pants. "Oh... oh this isn't good. I don't have my key." The lady at the front desk looked concerned for him as well.

"Oh dear, that is a problem. Well... I know your staying here. Would you like me to make you up a new one?"

"No that's fine, it was in my wallet so I must have dropped that somewhere."

"Oh my goodness, that's not good at all. Do you know where you dropped it?" Well there was one very obvious place. It probably left him when he took off his pants back in the woods. Volkner sighed realizing what had to be done. He guessed he would be burning this energy after all.

"Yeah I know what to do. Don't worry, I'll be back soon." He waved to her as he headed outside again and back towards the woods. Geez, was this ever a dumb move on his part. He was sure Misty was going to get a good laugh at him when he told her about this tomorrow. After a short jog through what was now an unfortunately darker woods he managed to figure out where exactly they had left the trail and head back into the woods. This proved pretty pointless too though as things were now so dark he couldn't find anything. "Looks like I'm gonna have to call for help." Pulling out his Pokeball he called out his Raichu, who blinked looking about the surroundings they were in.

"Chu?" It spoke aloud and turned to his master.

"Raichu, I kinda lost my wallet out here somewhere. Can you help me look for it, I need some light." The mouse like creature nodded with a little chu and produced an electric spark on his tail, making some light appear from his cheeks and tail with the charge to assist them in the search. It took a bit of looking around but after a little while it was Raichu who happened upon it and handed it back to his master. "Oh thank goodness. You really saved me Raichu."

"Raichu!" It stated happily as Volkner petted him on the head. When the two walked back to the road they were greeted by the surprise of two other individuals right in the area where Volkner had veered off the path. It was kind of hard to see but from what he could tell the two were a man and a women in dark outfits. They had some red colored symbol on their chest but he couldn't make it out.

"Um... hello there?" He spoke aloud to the two figures who as far as he could tell had been looking their direction since he spotted them. "Are you guys heading back to Cerulean too?"

"Not really, we're kind of just out for a stroll." The man spoke with a bit of a snarky tone to his voice that didn't sit well with Volkner.

"That is a really cute looking Raichu you have there." The woman commented looking at the Pokemon. "I bet he's pretty powerful too." He didn't much care for her tone either, there was something weird about these two.

"Yes, he's well trained. Well I'm glad you have such an eye for Pokemon. I guess if your not headed to Cerulean then maybe I'll see you later." Volkner tried to move on but Raichu didn't seem very pleased at all with the strangers, his cheeks were sparking like he was getting ready to attack them. "Lets get going Raichu."

"Oh you can get going if you like but I think the Raichu will stay with us. Along with all your other Pokemon as well." The man spoke up again to Volkner who was looking at them with disbelief at the moment.

"No, actually I think we'll be heading off together. Lets go Raichu." He tried to call out to his Pokemon but the two individuals reached out and pulled out Pokeballs of their own.

"Listen you thick idiot, hand over all the Pokemon and anything else valuable you have and you wont get hurt!" The woman shouted at him as they deployed their own Pokeballs, releasing a Golbat and a Venomoth ready to do battle. Volkner stared at what was going on here for a while as if he was trying to process all this. Before long he actually started to laugh out loud to himself.

"Are you serious? Your really trying to rob me? Oh.. oh ho ho.. ha ha ha ha! Oh... oh no. No I don't think so. Raichu, feel free to tear these guys apart." The Raichu let out a little "chu" of approval as the sparks were becoming more noticeable on his cheeks, eagerly ready to jump into this battle. The two robbers looked at each other with a bit of surprised but were still boastful.

"Ha, you really must be stupid! Your going to fight us both with just one Pokemon!" The woman continued to mock him. "Do you really think you stand a chance with just that stupid little mouse?"

"Well more than a chance actually, but if you insist." His lack of concern was unsettling to the robbers as Volkner reached behind himself and tossed out his other Pokeball. Releasing his large, monstrous sized Electivire onto the battlefield as well. The sight of the much larger and more aggressive looking Pokemon was enough that the robbers were starting to seem concerned. Volkner got a cocky smile on his face. "Tell you what kids... beat me and you'll get a badge." The words sunk in as it seemed to dawn on them; he was a gym leader. It didn't matter though, his Electivire had started the fight and there was no going back.

**********

Flint was relaxing on Volkner's couch and had been switching between the different pillows he had looking for the most comfortable one for watching TV when the phone rang. A little annoyed since he'd finally found a comfortable spot to be in he got himself up and headed over to pick up the line. "Sunyshore Gym, Flint speaking."

"It better be Flint speaking." He recognized the voice of course, he was pretty sure he was going to get a call eventually. Volkner was giving him a ring from Kanto to check up on his gym and Flint was more than a bit relieved that he sounded like he was in a good mood. "How's it been today?"

"Slow... like real slow. Don't you ever get challengers in this place?" Volkner laughed hearing the complaint.

"It's a week day so I'm not surprised. But to be honest when I put up I'd have a guest gym leader I was sure you were going to see more people show up just to investigate." Well that much was true Flint thought. One person did come to look in on it. But he didn't have to say that as long as Volkner didn't ask. "So did anyone come to see you at all?" Dammit.

"Well yeah... one person did come by actually." He tried to play it off like it wasn't a big deal, maybe he'd drop the subject. "So how's Cerulean, having fun out there?"

"It's been better than I ever thought. I don't know why I didn't do this sooner." Okay that was good. They were getting off the subject and he was still in a good mood. "It's been like amazing out here. I've had so much fun."

"I bet, so are her sisters as hot in person as they are online?" Volkner made a dismissive noise over the phone at Flint.

"Yeah, they all are. Pretty nice girls too, although a lot more valley girl type than you would have thought meeting Misty."

"Bet she's a big part of why your finding that place so great huh?" Flint was getting more relaxed now in conversation and took a seat by the phone. "Would it just be any old town without her there?"

"Maybe, I dunno. It is a nice place though." Volkner sounded more relaxed that Flint had heard him in a long time. "Someone did try to mug me though." The words took a few minutes to process before they made sense in Flint's head. His eyes widened a bit when he finally was able to grasp it.

"What!? Man are you okay!? Did they steal anything from you!?"

"Relax relax, they were after my Pokemon. You can imagine how well that went for them though." Flint eased up a bit again after that bit of info and thought about how that probably went down; a mugger trying to steal Pokemon from a gym leader? Yeah it probably wasn't even a contest. "I even offered them a badge if they could beat me." Flint laughed out loud when he heard that.

"Jeez, getting pretty damn cocky huh? This girl is getting you all sorts of worked up."

"Speaking of girls, did any come by the gym like you wanted?" Crap. Crap on a crapstick, he would ask that.

"Well um... yeah actually one did." He tried to sound as natural as possible when he was giving the news.

"Was she pretty?"

"Oh um... quite a looker actually."

"One of the students from the high school?" Okay these details were going to get him in trouble.

"No... no high school students, she was grown up that's for sure. So tell me more about your vacation." He tried not to sound like a guy who's clearly trying to hide something but it wasn't going over so well.

"..."

"You still there man?"

"So um... this woman that came by, she mention her name?" Jig is up. Flint let out a sigh as he tried to find the words to explain the gravity of his failure. The best he could come up with though was...

"You sitting down for this?"


	4. The Premonition

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Cold_hottiegurl: gardenia!

Cold_hottiegurl: your back!

Beautiful-Flora: Hi Candice, I just got back into Eternia.

Cold_hottiegurl: about time

Cold_hottiegurl: been boring without you here.

Beautiful-Flora: Isn't Maylene on too?

Cold_hottiegurl: yeah.

Cold_hottiegurl: but it's fun with you here too ^_^

Cold_hottiegurl: she's AFK right now though.

Beautiful-Flora: That's okay, I probably wont stay on too long. Kind of tired from my trip.

Cold_hottiegurl: whered you go anyway?

Beautiful-Flora: To Sunyshore.

Cold_hottiegurl: ...

Cold_hottiegurl: 0_0

Beautiful-Flora: What?

Cold_hottiegurl: _

Beautiful-Flora: What?

SuperMegakick94: BACK

Beautiful-Flora: Hi Maylene.

SuperMegakick94: GARDENIA'S BACK

Cold_hottiegurl: may, cap locks.

SuperMegakick94: Sorri...

Beautiful-Flora: How are you Maylene?

SuperMegakick94: I'm super! Things are pretty good here at the gym

SuperMegakick94: We're getting new equipment for pmon training

Beautiful-Flora: That's good. I wish we had some new equipment for the pokemon too but the city just says we can't afford it.

Cold_hottiegurl: hey maylene...

SuperMegakick94: That's not good. Maybe you should have my daddy talk tot hem. He got us the stuff

SuperMegakick94: Yeah?

Cold_hottiegurl: Gardenia went to Sunshore.

Cold_hottiegurl: **Sunyshore

SuperMegakick94: Really?

Beautiful-Flora: Yes, that's where I was the whole time. Candice it's not a big deal.

SuperMegakick94: Did you see Volkner?

Cold_hottiegurl: I know right!

Cold_hottiegurl: That was the first thing i thought of.

Beautiful-Flora: There are other reasons for me to travel to Sunyshore besides to see him.

Cold_hottiegurl: like what?

SuperMegakick94: Shopping?

Cold_hottiegurl: ugh... may, that's not helping

Beautiful-Flora: Besides I couldn't have seen him there if I wanted to. He's not at his gym now.

SuperMegakick94: What? Where would he be thn?

Beautiful-Flora: You guys never look at the websites do you?

Beautiful-Flora: He left town and isn't even in Sinnoh.

Cold_hottiegurl: wtf

Cold_hottiegurl: Where did he go?

Beautiful-Flora: He's in Kanto.

Cold_hottiegurl: 0_0

SuperMegakick94: Kanto? Why would he go there?

SuperMegakick94: Is he going to check out the gyms?

Beautiful-Flora: Probably one in particular...

Cold_hottiegurl: what does that mean?

Beautiful-Flora: Nothing. Never mind.

Cold_hottiegurl: no really what does that mean?

SuperMegakick94: Who's in charge of the gym then?

Beautiful-Flora: Flint's taking over temporarily.

SuperMegakick94: Really? Is he alowed to do that?

Beautiful-Flora: Apparently. No one seems to mind.

Beautiful-Flora: Of course the place was dead when I went in there.

Cold_hottiegurl: so you wanted to see who was in charge

Cold_hottiegurl: while volkner was gone

Beautiful-Flora: We should stay up to date on these things. I'm surprised neither of you even knew he was gone. It's public knowledge.

SuperMegakick94: I never thoght to look...

Cold_hottiegurl: so wait, it says on the website he's in kanto?

Beautiful-Flora: Not exactly...

Beautiful-Flora: Flint was the one that told me that.

SuperMegakick94: What gym is he visitng in Kanto?

SuperMegakick94: Probably Lt. Surge Right?

Cold_hottiegurl: surge was a freak!

SuperMegakick94: I thought he was funny...

Beautiful-Flora: More like Cerulean Gym...

Cold_hottiegurl: cerulean... IDK what one that is.

SuperMegakick94: Isn't that the water gym?

Cold_hottiegurl: Is it? I need to check.

SuperMegakick94: Yeah, I remember becaue Volkner went on a walk with that girl.

SuperMegakick94: Back at the party a while ago.

Cold_hottiegurl: 0_0

Cold_hottiegurl: OMG...

Cold_hottiegurl: he's going out with that water girl!

SuperMegakick94: Who is?

Beautiful-Flora: We don't know that.

SuperMegakick94: who is?

Cold_hottiegurl: Volkner!

Cold_hottiegurl: he totally went to Kanto and he ditched the party with that girl.

SuperMegakick94: Are you sure?

Cold_hottiegurl: IDK, but it makes sense!

Cold_hottiegurl: Gardenia?

Beautiful-Flora: What...

Cold_hottiegurl: Do you think he did?

Beautiful-Flora: I don't know okay!

SuperMegakick94: You said you think he went to Cerulan gym though.

Beautiful-Flora: Look it's just... Flint mentioned something that made me think that. Maybe it's just me.

Cold_hottiegurl: what did he say?

Beautiful-Flora: He said that Volkner "Has a thing for redheads."

Cold_hottiegurl: ... that it?

Beautiful-Flora: He was acting really weird too. Like he didn't want to talk.

SuperMegakick94: I found a picture of her.

SuperMegakick94: www.ceruleancity.com/cerulean_gym/profile/34.jpg

Cold_hottiegurl: does she always battle in a swimsuit?

Beautiful-Flora: Who cares?

Cold_hottiegurl: i do

Cold_hottiegurl: so like what was flint like, was he trying to avoid you and stuff?

Beautiful-Flora: It was weird, he was trying very hard to avoid a conversation. He also looked upset to see me.

SuperMegakick94: That's mean! He should be happy to see you. I always am when people visit.

Beautiful-Flora: It's okay Maylene. It's a weird situation.

Cold_hottiegurl: how did you get him to spill it anyway?

Beautiful-Flora: I'm extremely persuasive.

Cold_hottiegurl: okay.

Cold_hottiegurl: so how did you really get him to spill it?

Beautiful-Flora: I sort of... took off my poncho while I was there.

Cold_hottiegurl: 0_0

Cold_hottiegurl: XD

SuperMegakick94: I don't get it...

Beautiful-Flora: Don't worry none Maylene.

Cold_hottiegurl: I found a picture of her too!

Cold_hottiegurl: www.creuleanangels/mistymisty/gallery/pool22.jpg

SuperMegakick94: Um... thats kind of revealing.

Beautiful-Flora: Damn perverts on the internet.

SuperMegakick94: She should wear work out pants like me so she can hide that.

Cold_hottiegurl: she's got three sisters, they all have pictures like this.

Cold_hottiegurl: lucky me i live in the snow so no one ever sees me dressed like this!

SuperMegakick94: They have a website like this?

Beautiful-Flora: No hun, some lonely trainers took pictures of these girls and made it.

SuperMegakick94: Oh.

SuperMegakick94: I guess that's better...

Cold_hottiegurl: All sorts of sites are around like this.

Beautiful-Flora: Candice, lets not talk about that with May around, okay?

SuperMegakick94: I can handle it!

Cold_hottiegurl: so you really think volkner left town to go see her?

SuperMegakick94: It's just girls in swimsuits anyway.

Beautiful-Flora: I don't know, but it's none of my business anyway. Or yours.

Cold_hottiegurl: well its weird if there hiding something from us

Cold_hottiegurl: like why wouldn't flint tell you what he was really up to?

SuperMegakick94: Maybe he doesn't want to hurt Gardenia's feelings.

Beautiful-Flora: That's why I love you Maylene, your too sweet.

SuperMegakick94: :D

Beautiful-Flora: Guys really it's not a big deal.

Cold_hottiegurl: i'm still upset he didn't want to tell you the truth

Beautiful-Flora: Leave it alone Candice.

Beautiful-Flora: We're adults here.

SuperMegakick94: I just don't want you to be sad...

Beautiful-Flora: I'm fine May.

Beautiful-Flora: Volkner is a big boy and I'm a big girl and we moved on a long time ago. If he wants to date another girl that lives some where long distance that's his business. I don't want to make a big deal out of this.

SuperMegakick94: Your really fine? You promise?

Beautiful-Flora: Promise promise.

Cold_hottiegurl: are you going to ask him about it when he gets back?

Beautiful-Flora: No I wont.

Beautiful-Flora: Volkner doesn't like to talk much about his business or anyone elses. He prefers to let people do what they will and doesn't want to cause problems.

SuperMegakick94: He's kinda gloomy.

Cold_hottiegurl: He's super gloomy, even after he stopped that stupid crap of just handing out the badges

Cold_hottiegurl: I mean wtf, that made us all look bad!

Beautiful-Flora: He's fine now. Believe me I know Volkner. Right now he's probably just relaxing and thinking of some other gadget or invention his mind is making up out of thin air.

SuperMegakick94: But didn't Flint tell him you came by?

Cold_hottiegurl: yeah theres no way they didn't talk to each other by now

Beautiful-Flora: It's fine.

Beautiful-Flora: Volkner wouldn't let something like me get in the way of what he wanted...

**********

Early morning and Volkner was sitting on a bench in front of his hotel. He'd been in Cerulean four days now, and he knew he only had a few more before he'd have to go back home to Sunyshore. Volkner had gotten into the habit of waiting for Misty outside of the hotel as she preferred it to him coming over and getting assaulted with questions by her sisters. He really didn't mind but she was bothered by it so he went along for her sake. This morning Volkner had decided to let Raichu walk about with him and he was currently scurrying around the bench and sniffing the flowers, the sidewalk and saying hello to anyone else that walked by with their Pokemon. He found it amusing how easily Raichu seemed to make friends with other Pokemon, he was such an approachable little guy. Bit of opposite polarity from Volkner himself but maybe that's why they were a good team.

As he watched the clouds go by and awaited Misty to appear he was trying to keep his thoughts running on anything other than home. He was observing the town and judging their current set up, considering what could improve it. He was thinking of the other gyms in Kanto and perhaps he should have seen a few of them but his real goal had been to see Misty the whole time so he didn't think too bad of it. Really it was all just distractions from what would be happening at home. Ever since Flint broke the news he knew word would travel to his associates. At least the other women. Gardenia was often talking with Maylene and Candice so she would put two and two together and figure out where he was. Then inform them, who would likely inform the others. Until it was common knowledge Volkner had left the region to see a cute red headed girl in Kanto. Was that wrong? He didn't think so, and he honestly would defend Misty with all his strength. It wasn't even really that the other gym leaders knew that bugged him. He just wondered... how did she feel when she found out?

"Volkner?" The blond man jumped a little in his seat when Misty's face popped up in front of the clouds. She giggled a bit, holding Raichu in her arms. "Did I spook you?"

"Yeah, sorry. Guess I was lost in thought." He stood up next to her and pet Raichu on the head. Misty had picked a very sporty outfit today. She was wearing a yellow t-shirt and jean shorts that were held up with red suspenders. The outfit seemed like it may have been a bit childish, but on her it wasn't just cute but also felt appropriate. Like something she'd be known for wearing. "I see you found my partner."

"He lead me to you when I saw him in the street." The little mouse gave a happy "Chu" to Misty. Volkner was glad that Raichu had taken to her so quickly. Like he thought, Raichu was much better at making fast friends that Volkner himself. "Are you ready?"

"Certainly. What part of Cerulean did you wish to show me today?"

"Well actually I had a different city in mind." Volkner looked a bit shocked, he never thought they'd be traveling farther than the town's boarders. "Ever heard of Saffron?"

"Can't say I have." He only had a slight knowledge of Kanto due to Misty. "So we're traveling to another town. Sounds interesting, we're going to walk it?"

"Not exactly." Misty was grinning wide like she had some secret plan that she was just dying to put in motion. "When's the last time you rode a bike!?" Wow, what a question. Seriously how long had it been?

"A bike... I don't think I've touched one since I was a kid."

"Well hope you haven't forgotten how to ride it because we're going for a ride together today." She was overly pleased with herself, Volkner figured she must have put some work into planning today's activity and it made him smile too to see her so happy. Misty began to lead the way and kept Raichu in her arms hugging him like he was a stuffed toy. "Has it really been that long since you went riding?"

"I have a bike at home but I barely ever touch it." He was thinking back to how he'd gotten it for easy transportation but he rarely left Sunyshore for much of anything.

"Jeez, you don't swim much but your by the ocean. You don't ride much but you own a bike. Your lucky you look so good for a guy that barely exercises." She stated in a teasing tone to him.

"Not all of us own a private pool in our house to swim in. It seems to have done you some wonders having it though." Misty smiled and put some extra sway in her step to shake her booty at him.

"Your just lucky you still have that hot ass or I'd dump your lazy bones." She giggled again. She was so happy all the time, so cheerful. Since he'd come to this town he hadn't regretted a moment of it. Not even the attempted robbery on himself or the knowledge leaking out back home could make this not worth it. Misty lead him to the bike shop where she apparently was friends with the owner. The two got to talking and before long she'd rented out two bikes for them to ride for practically nothing in price. Misty was given a red mountain bike while Volkner got a larger, blue ten speed. Once the bike was near him he actually got a bit nervous and hoped he remembered how to ride. Didn't want to look stupid in front of her now. Since the bike didn't have a basket that meant one thing was obvious.

"Sorry Raichu, your going to have to ride in my pocket." He gave a sad little "Chu" but followed instructions and returned into his Pokeball. Once Volkner was sure he was secure along with the rest of his belongings he mounted the bike and thank god he still knew how to ride. "Ready?"

"Sure am. Just hope you can keep up, lazy bones." Misty took off on her bike and Volkner traveled in pursuit.

The road was actually very pleasant. It was a clear path and the weather was nice enough that there was little wind to cause them difficulty. As they traveled a few times people would look up and recognize Misty, waving to her and giving her welcome greetings. It was different for Volkner, usually around town everyone knew who he was. But here he was just another person, no more unusual than everyone else. Here Misty was the celebrity and everyone took the time to treat her as such. Some people attempted to ask for a battle, but upon recognizing Misty as a gym leader they usually thought better of it. Volkner also found that entertaining. He'd never seen Misty battle but she must have been fierce for so many adults to back down at the sight of her.

The ride must have taken around thirty minutes of travel and before long he could see the town on the horizon. For a lazy bones Volkner felt pretty good actually, riding the bike coming back to him easier than he thought it would. Once they were in town the first thing the pair did was stop by a vending machine and buy some drinks. Misty got some water and began to chug while Volkner picked up some lemonade. Half way through her drink Misty dumped the rest of the water on her head and let it seep onto her shirt, making it cling in an eye catching way. Volkner tried to focus on her eyes instead. "You did pretty good keeping up with me lazy bones."

"Long legs and nice ass aren't just for show, huh short stuff." Misty may have gotten upset at anyone else that would have referred to her being slightly shorter than most adults but she didn't mind light teasing from him. "How much further till we get to your special spot you wanted to show me?"

"Two special spots! Don't forget we have a lunch date today." Apparently she'd gotten reservations somewhere as Misty was keen on being sure they showed up for lunch at one o'clock exactly. "I think the first one your going to enjoy a lot." Misty aired her shirt out a little and hopped onto the bike again, peddling down the street with Volkner in hot pursuit. She darted through the streets expertly and Volkner was noticing that unlike Cerulean City no one seemed to be paying much mind to Misty here. Seemed fame was mostly restricted to your home towns in Kanto for gym leaders. Speaking of which he wondered who was the gym leader here? Maybe they should visit later.

They were pretty far into the city before Misty stopped abruptly on the sidewalk and parked her bike. Volkner still wasn't sure what was going on so he mimicked her and stood on the side walk while Misty turned to face him. "Know where we are?"

"... Saffron?" Volkner stated questioningly.

"Riiiight, know what we're by?"

"Buildings?" Volkner said questioningly still not really following.

"One building in particular!" Misty pointed over to the largest building in the city, it towered over every single other building in Saffron. "Know what that one is?" Volkner read the sign out front and started to catch on.

"That's the Silph Company Headquarters. Those are the guys that build everything from Pokeballs to the Pokedex and everything in-between. They're literally the leaders in Pokemon products over the world." Any tech head would know who these guys were. As one of the largest companies producing Pokemon products world wide it was impossible not to be aware of them.

"Correct! And guess what two people have passes to walk through and tour the building together this morning?" Misty reached into her back pocket and pulled out a piece of printed paper with a bar code, showing her purchase of the tour tickets. "So, are you excited yet?" When she asked Volkner was already chaining the bikes to the rack where they stopped. Once that was done he walked over to Misty and kissed her on the lips deep enough that she almost dropped the paper. Without even pausing he picked her up in his arms and carried her across the street to the building's main entrance. "I guess that's a yes." She said smugly.

"It's the only other thing in Kanto besides you I would have come here for, and now I have both. Yeah I'm excited." Misty giggled and let herself be carried, not really caring about the looks she was getting from the others on the street. Clearly these two were happy.

**********

The tour was about an hour long and Misty was letting Volkner milk every minute of it. Even though this was a gift to him she was finding it to be fairly interesting. The beginning was mostly about how the Silph company began and the early attempts to make a Pokeball for capturing and using Pokemon as field workers and protectors of towns. It wasn't until a modern revolution came about that the Pokemon became more like pets and friends, and people were using them less as labor and more like partners. From their Pokeball technology increased to become more portable, and was improved upon to catch the variety of different Pokemon in different environments. All okay, a bit overly educational and Misty was trying to stay focused and not fade out.

She was more concerned about the tour guide lady making eyes at Volkner. He didn't seem to notice but Misty was keeping an eye on her. Volkner was far more interested in the next part of the tour. They were allowed to watch the workers assemble and build Pokeballs on the factory floor. You could see the technology that went into assembling each one and along the guided tour there were informational plates that explained the techniques used. Volkner was entranced. He wasn't like a kid in the candy store, all jumping around and excited. Instead he had a far away look, like he was assembling the parts together in his head. Every so often he got a real smile over his face that made Misty smile too. It was rare to see him just so innocently happy over something, it made her feel good to be the one that had provided it to him.

Once the guided tour had ended guests were allowed to look over some of the newer products and prototypes for Pokemon technology. Volkner was gone in a yellow flash, looking over the products and questioning the employees about them. No one probably thought much of him, just a guy that was a tech-head. As the conversation went on though he was quickly growing on the other employees. Before long word got out.

"Yeah, I'm the gym leader for Sunyshore, in the Sinnoh region."

"Oh wow! We've heard of you! Your the guy that converted your whole city to soul power, aren't you?" The scientist on the floor was wearing a worker's button up blue shirt and dress pants, but his super thick coke bottle glasses made him look the stereotypical part. "I'm really impressed you came all this way to see us."

"Er... well, you were a happy stop off. I came for more important business to attend to in Kanto." Misty enjoyed the compliment but she was a bit sad he didn't outright say he was here to see her. Was he still trying to protect her? She'd been seen all over her hometown with him but back in Sinnoh it seemed he'd worked hard to keep their relationship private. Maybe she should let him know she didn't mind at all if he showed her off. "Besides, what I did was nothing like what you guys do."

"Oh far from it! We've never seen an individual influence a town so heavily. If you ever needed some financial backing I'm sure we'd be happy to talk with you about opening up a branch of our business in Sunyshore." Misty wondered if Volkner was really this much of a celebrity amongst the techies. His city was amazing no doubt but he was already regarded as the strongest gym leader in his region. Was he also king of technology where he was from too?

"Well I'll give it some thought... not sure how well the city would take to it though. I do support what you guys do, don't get me wrong." Volkner didn't seem like he was cut out for this kind of conversation, even if it was on a subject he liked. Maybe business wasn't his strong suit? "Sadly we do need to get going." The guy in the glasses looked over like he just noticed Misty existed and seemed a bit nervous now himself. Guess they don't see a lot of pretty girls in here... maybe she was being too confident though.

"W-well... whatever your "business" is I don't want to keep you from it." Maybe not, guy seemed like a wreck now. "Thanks again for coming by! If you can manage you should come back tomorrow, I could get you in and show you some things. Off the record of course."

"Oh?" For a guy that fell apart at the sight of a pretty girl he was good at pulling Volkner's attention back in. "What kind of "off the record" stuff we talking about?"

"Well not to get too cryptic but... lets just say we're working on some things that our competitors would love to get their hands on." He was leaning in and hiding his mouth in hushed whispers like something out of a movie while he talked. "We're actually on pretty high alert. Word is they may try some corporate espionage." It all seemed a bit over dramatic but if Volkner thought so he didn't change his face to reflect it. "Still while it's on the floor and being worked on you just ask for me when you come back, I'll get you in." The guy gave Volkner a wink but you could barely tell through the thick glasses. Volkner seemed nervous again but thanked the man professionally as they saw their way out.

Heading through the lobby to the front door Volkner still looked happy and was taking glances all around. "So, did you enjoy your gift?" He turned to her with a smirk and suddenly gave her a hug with one arm.

"I think you've figured that out already. Thank you again for this Misty." She cuddled into him with a warm smile of her own, rubbing her head against his side affectionately.

"Don't mention it, I'm happy to do it. Um... did you want to come back tomorrow to... do whatever that guy was talking about?" Volkner looked back at the door they had exited, seemed to think it over then shrugged a bit.

"Maybe, if we're not busy. I enjoyed it here but I'm not about to force you into another trip to this place if your not having fun." Sweet, he was thinking of her even though this was his personal fun zone.

"Well, we'll see how things turn out." As they got outside the two unlocked their bikes and mounted up again. "Now we head for part two of my special trip. You ready to meet a friend of mine?" Volkner seemed to get a flash of nervousness in his eyes when she suggested meeting someone new but it passed as quickly as it came.

"Lead the way, I'll gladly follow." He said in a confident tone. Misty hiked herself on her bike letting him get a view of the jean shorts she was wearing and hoped it was enough to keep his attention. Then she hit the kick stand with her heel and was off as quickly as she could go. She was still having fun every time she made him try to keep up with her.

**********

Misty lead them a little farther out from the main part of the city towards one of the edges close by where they had come in. Volkner figured it must have been one of the gym leaders she was taking him to see, and as they traveled he was a bit surprised to pass by not one but two gyms that were close to each other. Even though they were both clearly gyms the one that was the city sponsored gym stood out. The other looked worn and abandoned, and it seemed almost haunting that it was still around to Volkner. Like the carcass of a animal that had been slain in a fight. Misty rolled up and parked her bike and Volkner followed suit, walking along with her towards the entrance. "You remember Sabrina, right?" Sabrina... the psychic gym leader. Volkner had heard of her before but he had never spoken to her. Even when she'd come to Sinnoh to visit. Of course at that time the only girl he did talk to was Misty.

"I know of her anyway." It was the most confident answer he could give but Misty didn't seem bothered by it.

"I called ahead to ask her if we could stop by. She's not going to be taking challengers today so we can spend some time here with her." Volkner was a little nervous but he did his best to hide it. He was never really all that great with meeting new people he wanted to make an impression on. Gym challengers were one thing but people he actually cared about meeting was nerve wracking. Misty took his arm and lead him into the gym with her.

When they did arrive the place seemed like it had sort of a dark motif but he was still able to make things out clearly from the lighting. "Normally the challengers have to use these warp tile thingies to get around but she said she'd turn them off for us to just come in." Well that was a relief, he wasn't in the mood to solve a puzzle just to have lunch. As they approached the actual gym floor there was a table set up in the middle of the room. "Sabrina! I brought him like I promised!"

The young woman looked up from where she was setting the table, although she didn't have to move from her seat. Most of the table was already set, and what wasn't prepared was preparing itself! Bread and lunch meats were floating about the table and assembling sandwiches in the air. A pitcher of water was circling around the table and filling glasses on it's own. Sabrina seemed like she was concentrating, but looked over at the clock when she saw Misty and Volkner enter. "It appears I was off by a few minutes..." The sight was something to behold but Misty didn't seem to think anything of it. "I just need a few more minutes to finish."

"Take your time, we'll seat ourselves." Misty pulled Volkner into the room towards the table but he was still a bit surprised. He was trying to see if there was some sort of trick or Pokemon doing the assembly but it seemed like it was all Sabrina's own skill making these things float in the air. When they walked to the table the chairs pulled themselves out for the pair to sit, Misty plopping down closest to Sabrina and Volkner hesitantly sitting down as well.

"I would have had this all done for you but it appears I failed to predict your arrival time correctly." As the food was finishing putting itself together the jars of sauces and loaves of bread were repackaging themselves and setting down on the table. "Yes Volkner, this is all me. My Pokemon are currently resting." Could she read his thoughts? That was a bit concerning. "Don't worry yourself, I don't like to pry into people's minds. I can only hear surface thoughts." Okay... creepy. Just don't look at her cleavage with that shirt on. As long as you don't... she's adjusting her shirt. Damn surface thoughts. "Well please enjoy your lunch. I know you both must be hungry from that long bike ride." Misty didn't hesitate as she went right for her meal. Seeing her so relaxed made Volkner calm a bit down himself and he began to enjoy his lunch too. Sabrina had a very relaxed air about her, and when she talked it was even toned and pleasant. Her sentences always sounded well thought out, as if she was preparing each word in advance. She was a bit opposite to Misty's more spunky nature and it seemed to work between the two as friends.

As they all ate together they got into small talk. Sabrina asking Volkner of what he thought of Kanto and Saffron City, him responding with compliments all around for everything he'd seen so far. Volkner didn't try to act overly polite, with a woman that can read your thoughts there was little need to sugar coat things. Misty also discussed with Sabrina about how long they had been waiting for him to come out and how happy she was that they actually got the chance to be together. As they talked Volkner was becoming more comfortable around Sabrina despite all the floating psychic power stuff and mind reading. He was happy her and Misty felt like good friends.

"Oh Sabrina, think we could do that you know what?" Misty had a mischievous grin that Sabrina shared after a moment. Usually girls seemed like they could communicate in a way Volkner could never understand. Knowing these two could actually talk to one another through their minds made it even more mysterious.

"Well it was my suggestion, so I don't mind. Volkner, have you ever had your fortune read before?" He knew he hadn't and she probably knew too now that he'd thought it. But surprisingly she was allowing him to answer out loud, maybe for Misty's sake?

"Actually I'd never put much belief in that sort of stuff in the past. But I guess your probably going to prove me wrong huh?" He smirked a bit.

"You've probably never seen the real deal before, Sabrina's something else." Misty grinned excitedly and the praise was embarrassing Sabrina slightly.

"You flatter me too much Misty." She put her hand up with the first physical gesture for her powers Volkner had seen her do, and the plates, food and everything else on the table floated out of the room and probably to the kitchen. Raising her other hand she brought forth a large crystal that sat on a stand and landed it between them at the table. "This helps me focus my powers to allow me foresight into the future. Perhaps if I had used it earlier I would have predicted your arrival more accurately." It was kind of cute how she could get embarrassed even with all of these amazing powers. Sabrina shot a glance at Volkner after he thought that. He wondered if she had heard that thought but if so she didn't respond to it. "Volkner, if you could please sit on the other side of me." Misty was scooting her chair closer to Sabrina and Volkner responded to her request, coming around to the other side of the table. The crystal slid over between all three of them and glowed faintly. Volkner was wondering where it came from and how such a thing could help with these powers, but he was a man of science and this was all hard enough for him to grasp already.

"It's all kind of amazing isn't it?" Misty smiled at him from over top of the crystal. "It all seems a bit unbelievable at first but after a while you start to have faith in Sabrina's skill." Her face was illuminated by the glow of it and it made her skin reflect a light blue. It reminded him of her swimming in the water when they had been at the beach and a smile crossed him as well. He was brought out of the memory when he felt Sabrina's hand land on his own and flinched at the sudden contact. Glancing over he made sure her hand was on Misty's too, not wanting to get in trouble with his girlfriend. Maybe that thought had been heard because he noticed a little smile on Sabrina's face.

"I am going to look inside you both, and try to see what lies before you. All you need to do is relax and open your minds to me. It may seem a bit unusual but you will be fine." Volkner wasn't really all that tense to begin with but it did seem a little funny. He sat still as she began to concentrate. "Now... I'll look at the past first." As he sat there he felt himself remembering things... things that had happened just today... maybe because she'd mentioned the past but it was all playing out in his head. A little odd but he didn't think much of it. Randomly he was thinking of back home too. How Flint was doing with the Gym. What projects he still needed work on for the city. How much did Gardenia know about what he was doing here (best not to think of that). Why not? Wait...

"Now I'll try to see before you." Volkner wasn't looking up, he was still lost in thought, sort of mesmerized by her voice. Was he hypnotized? It was so soft and enchanting now, like he could be wrapped up in her voice like a blanket and feel warm. "You have been to the Silph company today, there is a man there that wishes for your return. You will see him again before the night is done." He would? That was strange since he really didn't intend on taking Misty back there. "There is going to be a fierce battle. Alone you will face great challenges, together you will overcome in a way no one has previously." This was all getting pretty dramatic. He was going to be in a battle? He didn't intend on battling anyone while he was on vacation. What was that bit about together accomplishing something? "You will not go home tonight. Misty your sisters will be angry with you but you will face no consequences." He was wondering what was going to be happening now more than ever, it sounded like things will get dangerous. "Misty you will stand in Sinnoh again..."

She was coming to Sinnoh in the future? He had hoped, he'd even planned in getting her to visit him again but it all sounded so cryptic, like something more would happen. Sabrina's voice didn't speak for a while but he still felt lazy like his mind was clouded. He thought of Sunyshore back in Sinnoh, of their first meeting together. The funny misunderstanding on the beach that lead to their first kiss, and then some. All the time they spent talking until they were able to get together again. His thoughts turned back to that night on the beach when they made love, the night here in Kanto when they were together in the woods. His memory was becoming more vivid of that particular scene and it was almost like he was there again. Suddenly he blinked and felt like he'd woken up from a quick nap. Volkner looked around feeling a bit out of place. Was it all over? He looked across the crystal and Misty appeared to be half asleep, staring down at the table. The crystal was glowing brighter than before and lighting the table up considerably. Volkner looked over at Sabrina who up until now had a very calm demeanor about her. Now she looked bothered, like she was too warm. Her face was flushed and the thing that caught Volkner's attention the most was her hand. It had gone from laying on his to gripping it with her fingers and squeezing lightly. He didn't really know what to make of all of this but felt awkward being the only one that seemed like he was awake. Volkner purposely cleared his throat which seemed to catch the attention of both girls and bring them back to the waking world. Misty was still groggy and rubbed her eyes a bit. Sabrina looked like her head was cloudy and she glanced around the table in a daze. Catching Volkner's eye she looked down to see her hand on his and pulled it away quickly, now fully awake and seeming uncomfortable. Misty had come around now too and she was looking between everyone.

"So... was that it?" Sabrina was rubbing her hand a bit and nodded slowly to her question. "That was all kind of cryptic don't you think?" Sabrina let out a long sigh restoring her composure to the calm young woman she was when they walked into the room.

"It was certainly... eventful. I'm not fully aware of what I saw myself." She was looking directly at her crystal now like she was processing some important thought, its glow had faded and the object had gone from a magical tool to just another pretty rock. "But I think you two need to show some caution on the way home tonight. I think there are some unexpected obstacles you'll be facing." Misty looked at her friend with concern and then over to Volkner, who was still trying to sort out everything that had happened. Some battle in the future... and what was the deal with that hand squeezing of Sabrina's?

"But together we can overcome those challenges, right?" Misty asked hopeful and Sabrina nodded confidently.

"I can say for certain that your power combined is something no one has seen before."


	5. Electric Splash

The couple stayed at Sabrina's Gym for a few hours as she gave them a small tour and the girls had the opportunity to catch up with one another. They explored most of the gym which was kind of simple with the warp tiles deactivated before finishing in Sabrina's living quarters to rest and enjoy some drinks. Misty was happy to gossip with someone else other than her sisters and Volkner even had a few stories to throw in from time to time. Mostly about some crazy thing he and Flint had gotten up to in their youth. Misty was relieved everyone felt so comfortable around each other and she was glad to incorporate her life with her friend along with her boyfriend. The only thing that bothered her at all was at times it seemed like Sabrina was stealing glances at Volkner for some reason or another. She wasn't sure what he was thinking but when her friend had left the room to get them more refreshments she gave him a small nudge with her elbow.

"Ow! Hey what was that for?"

"Are you looking down her shirt?" Misty had faith that her boyfriend was loyal to her but she knew that Sabrina was sexy and that tank top of hers allowed a pretty good view of her cleavage when she leaned forward.

"What? No! Why are you even asking me that?"

"Because she's looking at you sometimes like she's uncomfortable. If your thinking about looking down her shirt you know she can hear that right?"

"Yes, I do! That's why I'm actively reminding myself not to do or think of things like that." Reminding himself not to check out her friend with the larger chest didn't make Misty feel much better.

"She knows when your thinking of not looking at them too."

"Isn't that better than thinking of doing it? If she's going to hear my thoughts anyway?" Well... he had a point there but she still gave him a playful smack at his side for saying it. Sabrina either came in just in time to finish or was kind enough to keep outside while they talked. She set the drinks down for all of them on the small table but didn't sit herself. "I'm going to head to the ladies room for a moment." When she spoke Misty popped up onto her feet and followed after her.

"I'll come along too. You'll be okay alone for a few minutes, right Volkner?" He nodded a bit surprised he was being abandoned by them but didn't have much room to argue. The girls were already gone and headed for the public ladies bathroom of the gym. After taking care of necessary business Sabrina checked herself in the mirror alongside Misty. Sabrina was one of those girls that could wear just small amounts of makeup to bring out a lot of beauty in herself. Misty was never the type for putting on such things on a regular basis. She had fun dressing up but with how much time she spent in a pool it wasn't very practical. Still she made sure her hair wasn't too fussed up from all the bike riding.

"You seem like your happy with him." Sabrina spoke aloud now that they were actually alone together. Misty smiled and nodded to her.

"I think I am. I mean you pretty much know most of everything we've been through together so far, I told you enough about him already that you probably didn't need to do the reading." Sabrina kept the same calm composure on her face while Misty reflected more on her relationship. "He's nice... kind of calm for an Electric-Type user. But he seems like he's always thinking about things really deeply. I don't think there's any doubt that it was a good idea he came here." She nodded to herself in the mirror, feeling confident. "Yeah, I'm happy Sabrina."

"I'm glad, you deserve it Misty." She was done checking herself in the mirror and now leaning on the counter to talk more comfortably. "But... listen, there was something I saw that I didn't mention earlier." Misty was trying to keep confident but when your psychic friend starts talking of foreboding clouds in the future it can be a bit scary.

"That fight you mentioned? How we wouldn't be leaving Saffron tonight?" Sabrina shook her head, still very serious.

"It isn't about that, it's about Sinnoh." Sabrina looked like she was trying to choose her words carefully. Why was it all of Misty's friends were so deep in thought all the time? No one just had impulses like her it seemed. "Misty I think... I think it will be dangerous if you try to go there."

"What do you mean?" Sabrina actually looked worried and that frightened Misty more than anything. She never looked scared. "Is something bad going to happen when Volkner goes home?"

"No, he'll be fine. In fact his future seems like he'll have his issues to resolve but I don't think anything bad will come his way. It's you, at some point you or him or both are going to want you to head back to Sinnoh. When you do I see great hardship. If you go to Sinnoh you are going to have to endure quite a difficult travel. It may even be dangerous." This was all kinds of shocking, Sabrina usually never acted so cryptic. Misty tried to think on this. She's traveled alone before, she knows how to take care of herself. "You've never traveled alone though..." She clenched her hand a bit, did Sabrina have to sound scared when she talked? "I'm sorry..." She kept verbally responding to Misty's thoughts.

"Just... just tell me something. If I go to Sinnoh, go on this dangerous journey, all by myself; am I going to get to him again?" Sabrina looked away like she didn't want to say anything, avoiding Misty's eyes. After a while she nodded her head. "If I get there... will I be happy still?" Sabrina let out a little sigh, and nodded her head slowly. "Well then... no little journey has ever scared me before!"

"Misty?"

"You don't have to be so worried Sabrina, after all even if I am on some dangerous journey I can take care of myself. I'm the Cerulean Gym leader! You think I'm a push over?" Sabrina smiled a bit and hugged Misty against her, getting a big one in return. "So don't get so scared, I can write my own future. I hope you have fun reading it as I do." Sabrina giggled lightly and hugged her a bit tighter. When the let go of one another she turned to head out of the bathroom but Sabrina stopped her.

"Oh um... I think I should probably help you if I can too. For tonight that is." Misty blinked a little confused and Sabrina was blushing like she was really embarrassed. "This is harder than I thought it would be..." Misty was really confused now and just stood there dumbfound before Sabrina finally gathered her courage up. Reaching into her pocket she set on the counter a small bottle and some wet naps.

"What do I need these for?" Misty blinked still very confused but Sabrina was blushing harder now.

"Well um... it's not good if he keeps using his shirt... right? To clean up afterward?" Misty blinked a few times before finally understanding more clearly. When she looked at the little square packages again she saw they weren't wet naps but condoms (ultra thin) and the bottle was for lube. She felt the color wash out of her face but wasn't able to look back up at her friend.

"You uh... you saw... all of that too?" There was a bit of an awkward pause between them for a bit before Sabrina looked at her again.

"I'm glad you have a healthy relationship with him like that." It was said in a forced polite way and Misty just acknowledged it, pocketing her friend's gifts. "You two really should be more careful... I can't believe both times were outside..."

"Okay! Well we should get back huh!?" She grabbed Sabrina's hand and pulled her out of the ladies restroom, looking to stop this conversation before it got too much farther. Talking about your sex life with your friends was one thing but knowing she got a full show and play by play of the event was a little too far. The two walked back to the living quarters through the gym and when they got back there was one extra guest in the room.

"Chu." The Raichu looked up at Misty and Sabrina, he was sitting opposite of Volkner and holding Sabrina's cup of tea in his paws. It was so cute neither girl could resist as they responded with shouts of "Awww!" and ran to the little Pokemon's side, petting him and fawning over him.

"He's so adorable!" Misty hugged the little Raichu and Sabrina took her cup away so he wouldn't accidentally spill it.

"Sorry if letting him out in your room wasn't appreciated but I wanted to hang out with someone while you were gone." Volkner apologized to Sabrina but she didn't seem to mind at all. Instead petting the little Pokemon and he responded with squeaks of happiness.

"Not at all, he's even more adorable than Misty described." The little Raichu was loving the attention he was getting from both girls at once, making Volkner give the little Pokemon a jealous look. Misty saw his face and didn't need to be a mind reader to understand his thoughts.

"Wishing you were in his place?" Volkner looked a bit embarrassed and glanced away.

"Doing just fine over here." He sipped his drink and pretended to not care but it just made Misty giggle. She looked at Sabrina to see she seemed to have an embarrassed expression too. Maybe she was thinking of her and Volkner on the beach... okay we need to move off that subject.

"Well, it's getting kind of late huh? We didn't mean to eat up your whole day." Misty apologized to Sabrina and stood up still holding Raichu in her arms. Sabrina shook her head in dismissal.

"Not at all, I really enjoyed having you both over. But you should be getting back before it gets too dark."

"I thought we weren't going to make it home tonight?" Volkner questioned aloud and Sabrina stood a bit awkward at his suggestion.

"I'm not always accurate with my readings... a lot can change based on personal decisions. But if night hits and the sun goes down your bike riding will certainly be more difficult to get home."

"Guess I can't argue with that." He put his drink down and the trio headed toward the entrance for Sabrina to let them out. They had a little more small talk outside the gym before finally deciding to part ways when the evening sky was starting to turn purple. "I do want to say it's been a pleasure meeting you Sabrina. I'm glad to get to know Misty's friends."

"Like wise, and be sure to say hello to Flint for me. He's doing well in taking care of your gym while your gone." Volkner blinked surprised, seemed like her powers were far reaching indeed. He smiled and nodded.

"I'll be sure to let him know."

"Bye Sabrina!" Misty put Raichu down who jumped up on Volkner's back like a little mousy back pack. The two girls hugged each other and Sabrina suddenly leaned in to whisper something to her.

"Be safe Misty... your my best friend." Misty was surprised by the confession but nodded and gave her another little hug. Everyone waved as they mounted their bikes and the couple was off from the Psychic Trainer's gym.

"So how did you feel about Sabrina?" Misty posed the question to Volkner as they were walking back with their bikes in hand. It probably would have been smarter to ride them and try to get home before dark but the two were satisfied just walking along with them and conversing calmly. He thought it over for a bit, the interaction has been interesting to be sure but a little intimidating.

"She's nice. I liked meeting her." Was all he could come up with and the look on Misty's face told him she wasn't satisfied with such a meager answer.

"Did she scare you?" She was smirking but Volkner played it cool.

"I don't get scared." Misty giggled and playfully punched his shoulder.

"Oooh, tough guy. C'mon though, super sexy girl with the ability to read your mind. Your saying that doesn't make you feel a little uncomfortable?" Well it was true he didn't exactly feel normal around her. It was just the fact that she could see into his head so easily that made him feel a bit concerned. But that really didn't effect his judgment of her as a person.

"Well okay it shook me up a little what with the table reading and her staring at me sometimes." Misty looked at him, apparently she hadn't noticed the glances he'd gotten from Sabrina in the same manner he had. "But she was really nice, and you two seem like close friends. I'm really glad we came to see her today." Misty grabbed his free arm with hers as the two kept pushing their bikes along the street.

"I'm glad you think so, I'm happy too." Well that was that anyway. Volkner was pleased today had turned out so well, and it seemed like the walk back to Cerulean City was going to be uneventful. Maybe she did get her fortune telling wrong sometimes. He didn't doubt her power though, she had displayed far too many acts of it casually to think she was faking it or trying to impress them. "I guess she was wrong about us not making it home though, huh?"

"Now your the one reading my mind." They exchanged a little laugh and got on their bikes, adding speed to their travel. The two were going to make it out of the city pretty easily until the street suddenly became alive with people. Out of one of the buildings which looked like a restaurant or maybe even a bar five people in nearly matching black outfits exited. They walked together in a way that suggested they were some sort of group or team even if they hadn't all been dressed so similarly. The men were wearing black pants and coats while the women had the same tops but skirts on. All in uniforms with red letter M's on the front, except the big guy leading the group. He was wearing a white tank top with his black pants and seemed like he didn't need to be in uniform to show he was in charge of these guys. Maybe he wanted to stand out, or maybe just show off all the muscles he had that he didn't wear a coat like the others. Misty and Volkner were getting ready to swerve past the group until an old man came running out after them.

"Wait! Can't you kids hear me!? I said you didn't pay the bill!" From the apron on him and the uproar he was making you could see he was probably the manager of the restaurant. The group stopped in their tracks and Misty and Volkner also stopped on their bikes, watching the little scene in front of them unfold.

"We hear you old man." One of the kids in the coats, a punk with red slick backed hair responded to him. "We just don't have any reason to listen to you. So keep yelling if it makes you feel better, we'll just keep walking." The old guy was furious looking now at the kids, gripping a broom tightly in his fists making his knuckles turn white.

"You little punks think you can steal from my restaurant?" He was seething with anger now but the group didn't seem at all bothered. If anything they were snickering at how upset he was. "Little brats think your the first to try and do a dine and dash? Well I'll show you how Smitty handles things in this town!" He raised his broom and came rushing and the red haired kid, who was actually so surprised by the attack he wasn't going to be able to defend himself. As the broom came down it made a weak sounding thud, landing in the palm of the team's leader. The large man in the tank top had made his way to the front of the group and caught the broom as it came swinging down.

"There a problem old timer?" He growled out the words and squeezed the broom in his hand, it almost sounded like it would break as the wood creaked in his fist. The old geezer looked frightened but he wasn't backing down.

"Your right there's a problem, you didn't pay your tab. Now... now pay up! Or I'll have to call the cops." The group literally broke out into laughter over his suggestion, the large man pulling the broom out of the restaurant owner's hand and grabbing him by the front of his shirt.

"The cops? The cops! You think the cops scare me? You think anything scares me old timer? Listen close; I take what I want when ever I want. You got a problem with that, stop me." He was obviously intimidating the old man, but you could see his fist balling up like he was getting ready to fight. Volkner had finally seen enough. He hit the kick stand on his bike and walked towards the scene, Raichu still riding on his back. Misty made a noise of concern in her throat but he couldn't ignore this even if she was worried about him getting involved.

"Hey! You guys got an issue with this restaurant?" Volkner put on his best tough guy voice but it really wasn't his strong suit. He wasn't the type for intimidating, he usually worked through actions rather than words. It was enough though as they all turned to look at him and the big guy even let the restaurant owner go. The old man scrambled to pick up his broom like he'd recovered a weapon and backed up by the door of his store. The whole group's gaze was on Volkner now and he was starting to size them up.

"Well it looks like we got a hero." The group of black clad criminals laughed at him the same as they did at the old man, but it didn't really bother Volkner in the least. "Hey pretty boy, what you going to do? Going to call the cops too? Why not save the trouble of a beating in front of your little stick of a girlfriend back there and run home." Volkner could hear a metal clang behind him as Misty put up her kick stand and was getting ready to march over. He was starting to realize pretty quickly she had a short fuse. Best to end this as soon as possible.

"Actually I think I'll just take you all out and my lovely girlfriend and I will head home shortly thereafter." The group wasn't bothered by his words but he didn't care, he'd rather just end this without all the banter. Nudging his head he got a confident "Chu" from his little buddy, Raichu hopping off his back and walking out front with cheeks charging electricity.

"A Raichu? This is going to be easier than I thought." The man in the tank top reached into his pocket to pull out a Pokeball but everyone was shocked when the red headed punk from before let out a cry like he'd been stabbed in the chest. Everyone glanced over to see he was pointing at Volkner like he'd seen a ghost.

"Boss! Boss that's the guy, he's the one I told you about!" Everyone looked around confused, Volkner and Misty the most of all as they exchanged glances when she had taken a spot to stand beside Volkner. He could see fire in her eyes after they'd insulted her and him. "He's the guy that beat us up!" Beat them up? When had he beaten anyone up? Heck he hadn't been in town long enough to even explore all of the cities. He'd only been around Cerulean. Wait a minute.

"Hey... I do recognize you." Volkner was putting it together now. That night in the forest, the part without Misty. "Your the kids that tried to mug me."

"Someone tried to mug you!?" Misty shouted out almost horrified. It actually caught Volkner off guard how upset she seemed.

"Well yeah... I mean it happened that night we went to the cape. I went back into the woods cause I lost my wallet and these guys tried to jump me." He motioned at the red haired boy and the girl with the long, purple hair that was in a braid. "They were pathetic though, I fought them off so easily it was barely worth remembering."

"Barely worth your memory!? Well this time we'll show you who's going to remember... this... night!" The purple haired girl clearly had more courage than her red haired companion, calling Volkner out. He was getting ready to challenge them again but Misty grabbed him by the jacket sleeve and made him turn towards her.

"You were almost robbed and you didn't tell me!" Wow... she was angry. The fire she'd had in her eyes for the gang was now all resting on Volkner. He wasn't even sure what to say as she stared up at him.

"I uh... I didn't think it was important. Nothing bad happened."

"Not important!? Someone attacks you, tries to rob you and you think it's not important to tell me!? To tell your girlfriend that someone tried to hurt you!?" The heck was she so angry at him for? The freaking muggers were right in front of them but she was focusing all this aggression his way.

"I just didn't want to worry you about something unnecessarily." He confessed to her, feeling a little guilty but he didn't see why. After all nothing bad had happened to anyone that didn't deserve it. Misty was clenching her fists tight.

"Someone tries to hurt you and you keep that from me, I can't even believe that you'd keep something like that to yourself! I mean... I... I care about you! You can't keep things like that from me." She was sounding desperate but still enraged that this had happened. Volkner wasn't really sure how to react, she was so upset but he still didn't think he'd done anything wrong. Maybe he should have mentioned it but still nothing bad had happened.

"If you two are done with your little marriage argument maybe you could clear the street so we can go." The large man tried to sound intimidating again but as far as Volkner was concerned no voice sounded scarier than Misty's right now.

"You just shut your big bald head, I will come over there and take care of you right after I'm done with him!" She was hugging Volkner's arm tight against herself, he didn't know if it was for comfort or to keep him from being able to get away. Although after mentioning his lack of hair the muscle bound leader gritted his teeth and growled out in a low voice.

"You want to come closer and say that you little bitch?" Volkner's gazed turned to him right away after he insulted Misty. He was feeling a charge burning inside his own belly now that Misty was being threatened. She wasn't scared though and reached behind herself to pull out her Pokeball.

"Lets go then you big ape!" Raichu was looking between everyone with a confused face like he couldn't really figure out if he was supposed to be doing something or not. It looked like the battle was about to start but the other young man in the group that hadn't said a word yet walked forward, adjusting his glasses.

"Boss, why not leave him to us?" He spoke with a arrogant tone, his hair was pulled back into a blond pony tail and Volkner thought if anyone deserved the insult "pretty boy" it was this douche. "After all if Team Missile is going to go on to establish itself in the region we can't have our boss doing all of our work, right Clyde?" He shot an insult to the red haired boy who glared over at him.

"Shut up Dick, you weren't there. You don't know what this guy can do." Clyde, apparently, spoke of Volkner as some kind of monster of a trainer. He was happy to be these thugs monster. Would teach them a lesson.

"Fine, you four take care of them. I don't want to have to get involved." The muscle man walked back towards the restaurant, pulling up one of the outside chairs to sit on and watch his men go to work. The restaurant owner had already retreated to the door frame to try and watch the street fight from a safe location.

"Right then, so I think the four of us can handle one trainer, right?" Dick as the boy had been called, spoke up and his partners all crowded around him ready for a battle. Volkner smirked, a four way battle? This would be interesting. At least it would have been if Misty didn't step up to join him. Her Starmie appeared from it's Pokeball next to Raichu also ready to fight. "Oh, so the little girl has some Pokemon too? Well I suppose we can split our efforts, right?"

"We'll take the girl good luck in your fight later!" Clyde and his purple haired female partner ran away from the other duo, giving themselves some room to work. Misty shot Volkner a glance as if to let him know that he wasn't off the hook. Calling her Starmie with her they moved off to the side a bit to battle the other thugs. Volkner watched her move aside for her own battle; it worried him. She was a gym leader just like himself and he knew she could handle herself in a fight but he couldn't escape the nagging feeling in his heart to stay close to her when she was in danger. Maybe this kind of feeling was the reason she got so angry.

"If your ready we'll start any time." The blond haired dick named Dick spoke up and Volkner narrowed his gaze on his two opponents.

"I like his eyes." His female partner finally spoke up, she had two short pig tails that poked out from the side of her head out from under her hat. "After we beat them maybe I should keep him for myself."

"Always trying to collect your little trophies, eh Tracey? Don't complain if he turns out to be another loser."

"I'd be more worried about yourselves, and for the record miss, I'm taken." The thugs scoffed in his directions and sent out their Pokeballs, releasing a Nidorino and a Tangela before him. Raichu finally recognized something he could respond to; a battle. Taking position in front of Volkner he let out a little "chu" and sparked his cheeks.

"I hope your not going to fight us with just one little Raichu." It was funny, he was getting flashbacks to his first encounter with their partners. "I wouldn't want it to end so quickly after all."

"Your friends said the same thing. I'll give you the same courtesy I gave them." Reaching back he pulled out his Pokeball and released Electivire, making the ground shake a bit when it was released. The large Pokemon looked at it's surroundings and saw opponents before himself. The creature gave a grunt of approval and slammed his fist into his palm, giving off a little spark from it's body. "If you can beat me, I'll give you a badge." Volkner smirked.

**********

Misty had moved a few feet away from Volkner but she was still fuming at the man. He had hidden something like that from her. He'd been attacked by these people and he didn't even let her know that he'd been in danger! What if he'd gotten hurt? What if they'd followed him back to his hotel and attacked him again? So many things could have happened, he probably didn't even tell the police! If she didn't have his actual attackers in front of her right now she'd be laying into him so hard for making her worry. Still she had to admit it was nice having the exact cause of her anger in front of her to take it out on. They seemed relieved they didn't have to fight Volkner again, she was going to make them regret that they chose her instead. "You can just give up right now if you want to avoid the beating I'm gonna give!" She shouted her words at them but they were all confident now that big bad Volkner was away. She could see he'd released his Pokemon now and was getting ready to battle.

"Run from some runt of a girl, please." The purple haired woman taunted Misty but she didn't think she could get more pissed off then what she was now. "I'll let you know that the woman who's going to show you who's not only a better trainer but much better looking is none other than myself, Bonnie." She was grandstanding but it didn't really get to Misty that much, in fact none of the taunts did. She just wanted to let out her aggression.

"Listen you big boobed bimbo are we going to battle or what!?" Bonnie as she called herself was taken aback by Misty's angry shouts and responded in kind.

"Bimbo!? Why you little runt of a girl, I'll show you who's the stupid one around here! Go Venomoth!" She threw her Pokeball out in anger and the insect creature popped out.

"Keep it together Bonnie or the boss is going to lose patience with us." The boy with the slicked back red hair walked forward and tossed his Pokeball out as well, releasing a Golbat. The two Pokemon flew side by side facing down Misty's one Starmie.

"I don't give a damn Clyde, she insulted me and she'll pay! Venomoth use your Tackle attack!" The insect Pokemon charged forward at Misty's Starmie but it was already in the air, spinning around and dodging the Venomoth's attack. The Golbat tried to overtake the Starmie's path as it was flying but Misty saw that coming.

"Starmie, go straight into a tackle attack, hit them both!" The Starmie spun faster as it's body collided with the Golbat's, bouncing off and coming down onto the Venomoth. It whirled back over to where it's master stood, Misty cross armed and glaring at the two members of Team Missile. Bonnie looked like she was about to pop a vein over how upset she was at the Water-Type Pokemon dodging both their attacks but regained her composure.

"Bonnie, we're doing this all wrong. Lets show her some team work. Golbat, use your Supersonic attack!"

"Venomoth, do the same!" The thugs ordered their Pokemon to work together with the same attack as it assaulted at Misty's Starmie. Taking to the air again the Starmie spun about looking for an opening, but the long range attacks were proving difficult to find a spot where it wouldn't be harmed. Bonnie laughed arrogantly watching the Starmie dance through the air desperately trying to dodge their attacks. "You see little girl, you never stood a chance. Battling us both with just one Pokemon. What were you even thinking?"

"Your right." Misty admitted, considering that maybe her anger was blocking her judgment. "What was I thinking? After all, I got plenty of support right here for Starmie." Reaching behind herself she released another Pokeball, this time when it opened it cast a large shadow against the light of the street lamps that were now coming to life with nightfall. The Starmie retreated next to its new battle partner to hide from the Supersonic attacks. "Gyarados, don't hold anything back." The large Pokemon let out a roar that actually knocked the hats off of the two Team Missile trainers. "So what was that about team work? Oh yeah, Starmie and Gyarados, use tackle on them." The water Pokemon roared and lunged forward with the Starmie, chasing not only the Venomoth and Golbat but the Team Missile members around the street themselves with it's attacks. Misty smiled a little, this was making her feel a bit better as a source to vent her anger.

**********

Volkner smiled to himself as he was taking time to glance over at Misty's battle, seeing her Gyarados put her opponents on the run literally. He hadn't been doing too bad himself actually. Raichu was dodging the Vine Whips that the Tangela of Tracey's had been using (didn't surprise him this woman had whips in her attack selection) and Electivire had been playing a game of keep away with the Nidorino. Every time the Nidorino moved in to try and get a poison attack with it's horn against him Electivire was throwing punches at its face and moving it off target. Electivire was one of Volkner's Pokemon that he liked to let enjoy the fight since it got so much satisfaction from doing it. He gave his Pokemon commands but for the most part they would do what he would have suggested regardless. It was satisfying seeing his team perform so well, probably what gave him the confidence to keep glancing over at Misty's battle. Dick was looking less confident as his team was having a harder and harder time battling against these Electric-Types who were stronger than anything he'd seen previously. Adjusting his glasses Volkner saw him creep over to Tracey and whisper something to her. Volkner couldn't make out what it was but he didn't mind, his team was performing perfectly.

Stealing a look over at Misty again Volkner saw that her Gyarados had actually chased the two trainers and their Pokemon into an ally way that they were hiding in to try and be some place smaller than the monster could reach them. It failed pretty quickly when the Starmie flew into the ally and began to bounce around the walls, chasing them all out again. Volkner nearly laughed out loud watching the display until he heard some words that snapped him out of his trance. "Tangela, use Sleeping Powder!"

"Raichu! Dodge back!" He shouted the command but it was too late, his little buddy got caught up in the attack and the powder fell around him. His little dark eyes blinked a few times before falling over and into a deep slumber. "Raichu, no! Wake up!" Volkner growled, how could he have been stupid enough to get distracted during a battle! Electivire noticed Raichu falling over asleep and it acted to defend it's team mate. Back handing the Nidorino who amazingly had stayed on its feet despite all this punishment, the Electivire ran over to try and wake up or defend Raichu. It seemed this had been part of their plan as well since Tracey moved forward with her next action immediately.

"Tangela, change targets, use constrict!" Electivire had been so preoccupied trying to get to its friend to save him it didn't realize the vines were wrapping around its body until there was no escape. The coiling vines restricting its movements there wasn't even enough time for Volkner to shout the command to try and counter attack.

"Nidorino, Poison Sting now!" Dick called out his attack and the Nidorino charged at Electivire. With its hands tied there was little it could do to protect itself, the stinger landing in the monster's fur and delivering the poison.

"Electivire, dammit! I'm sorry!" Volkner knew it was his fault, he should have been paying better attention. The enemy was focusing entirely on Electivire now, their attacks trying to damage him as much as they could while Raichu was still passed out asleep. With his hands tied down his fighting skills were highly restricted. But that didn't mean he was out. "Electivire, quick use your Discharge!" The creature grunted and let out a shout, electricity shooting off it's body and into the two other Pokemon. There was a quiet moment afterward to see what would happen. Once the electricity had stopped flowing the vines around the monster's body loosened. Flexing it pushed the Nidorino and the Tangela off, freeing it's body and shoving aside the two fainted monsters.

"Impossible... how could we have lost?" Dick was standing in shock next to Tracey, who seemed just as surprised. Even with their clever strategy Volkner's Electivire managed to power through their attacks. Electivire turned to Volkner to give a thumbs up, but it was woozy on its feet from the poison. Volkner started to walk forward to his friend who had battled so hard for him.

"Hey tough guy, that was pretty amazing back there." Volkner complimented his Pokemon, the two smiled at each other but the celebration was short lived as a rock collided with Electivire's back. Stumbling forward the monster shook but didn't fall as it looked back to see who its attacker was. Standing now in front of his two subordinates was the bald, muscle bound leader of the gang.

"So guess you weren't just all talk, huh pretty boy?" Next to him was the Rock-Type Pokemon Graveler, sneering with almost as mocking of a face as his master. It was obvious who had done the cheap shot on Electivire. "Can't believe I'm actually going to have to take you down myself. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy to do it. You can call me Bazooka Joe."

"Volkner." It was all he felt like giving the smug bastard, just his name. It was all he needed to say. Electivire was shaky on his feet but still looked eager to fight the monster that had hit him in the back. Turning to face the Graveler it began to run forward for an attack.

"Graveler, use Stealth Rock." The Graveler grabbed bits off its own body and threw them onto the battle field, littering it with sharp, jagged rock like spikes. Electivire stopped its charge short when it saw the trap it was about to run into. "Now, get him." Joe didn't even have to say the move as the Graveler charged forward and hit Electivire with a Bulldozer attack, knocking the Electric-Type monster off its feet and onto the ground. Volkner looked to Raichu for assistance but the little guy was still asleep even with all this chaos. Despite the beating somehow Electivire got up onto its feet again, poison still working against it. Volkner reached for his Pokeball to call him back but it looked back to its master expectantly.

"Electivire... are you sure? I don't want to see you get hurt further." The monster growled and stood on its feet, pounding its chest in assertion. Volkner sighed, there wasn't any point in arguing now. "Okay then, we'll play it safe. Let him come to you." Electivire grunted and stood ready for the next move. Joe was as smug as ever seeing the monster was still planning to battle.

"You don't really think you can still win with that do you? Don't you know anything about weaknesses of Pokemon types?" It was true the odds were against the two of them with their opponent using rock type moves but that didn't deter either the Pokemon or its trainer. "I'm done watching this stupid match. Graveler, finish this off with a rock smash against that stupid creature's face." The boulder like monster grunted out its name in agreement and charged at Electivire who was holding his ground. Volkner could only clench his fist watching what was coming, he already knew what move Electivire planned to use. It was what he would have chosen himself. Once the Graveler was almost on top of them Electivire reeled its fist back for its own attack as well. The two monsters collided fists into each others faces and there was a vibration that shook off their powerful frames and into the humans watching the battle. With the dramatic trading of blows the fight was over, Electivire slumped forward, and fell to the ground passed out. Joe was laughing confidently. "You see! What an idiot, trying to fight a Rock-Type with an Electric-Type. Serves you right you blond bastard." He was sneering at Volkner but Volkner didn't respond, instead pulling out his Pokeball and calling Electivire back to recover his partner. "Graveler, smash that Raichu and we'll be on our way." The Graveler moaned out to its masters command, and with a ground shaking impact fell over onto its back on the street. The Team Missile gang looked on shocked that their boss' Graveler had been defeated from one attack from an Electric-Type.

"Your the one that doesn't understand. Even if the types are against me it wont matter. My Pokemon are all Electric-Types, and they can handle anything you throw at them." He looked down at the ball his fainted Electivire was in and placed it back on his belt. "Your also a fool to attack my Electivire head on. Not one Pokemon has ever taken a punch from his Giga Impact and stayed on its feet." Joe looked furious and pulled out his Pokeball calling the fainted Graveler back. This time he let out another Pokeball and released a Machamp onto the field. The large humanoid, muscular monster flexed it's four giant arms with a confident smile at Volkner. Dick and Tracey had started to use revives on their Pokemon to bring them back up to the land of the living. Seemed they didn't plan to play fair.

"Chu..." The Raichu blinked and looked around seeing the battlefield had changed a bit since he took his nap. Blinking awake he got on his feet and looked back at his master, who walked over and petted his head with some words of encouragement for him.

"You've been pretty lucky so far Blondy but this is the end." Even after giving his name Joe didn't use it. Disrespectful jerk. "You got one little Raichu against my Machamp and my two little idiot followers." Tracey and Dick looked annoyed by the insult but they didn't protest, seemed everyone was afraid to face Bazooka Joe. "Give up and go home."

Volkner reached farther back on his belt and pulled out another Pokeball. "This time you wont get any openings. Games are over." He said calmly tossing out another partner for Raichu to battle alongside. This time when the ball opened it revealed a Luxray. The lion-like Pokemon shook its fur as it emerged and revealed its claws, scratching against the street's surface. When it opened its eyes it let loose a menacing growl that intimidated all the opponent's Pokemon on sight. Clearly this one wasn't as playful as the Electivire had been. Joe saw that his Machamp had actually been intimidated and it gave him some concern, so he did the most logical thing he could.

"You two, go out there and take them out." Dick and Tracey looked over at their leader helplessly. Being forced to battle again so soon after they lost. Still there wasn't much choice, the Tangela and Nidorino stepping out to the fore front.

"Such a bother." Dick grumbled and adjusted his glasses. "Right then, Nidorino, give that Luxray a taste of your Poison Sting." The Pokemon beat its feet into the street and ran off looking to charge the Luxray head on, Volkner was ready this time.

"Raichu, intercept it with a Volt Tackle!" The Raichu called its name out happily and was surprisingly quick on his little feet as it ran to its partner's aid, a coat of electricity covering his body and side swiping the Nidorino with its own tackle before it could get to Luxray.

"That Raichu wont be a pest much longer, Tangela put it out with another Sleep Powder!" The little Grass-Type followed Tracey's commands as it walked over to where Raichu was giving a charge to the Nidorino. It didn't make it two steps before the Luxray cut it off, intense eyes and shiny sharp teeth directly face to face with it.

"Luxray, Volt Fang." With Volkner's blessing the Luxray took to it almost savagely, an electric charge shooting up its body and making its fur stand on end as it bit into the Tangela and picked it up off the ground. It shook it around in its mouth like an animal looking to eat its prey, then with a quick motion of its head spit the Tangela to the ground, pressing down on it with its paw. The Luxray growled and looked up making eye contact with the trainer. Tracey was actually too taken aback to even try to give another command, not that it would have helped the fainted Tangela. "Good Luxray. Raichu, finish it with an Iron Tail." Raichu had been busy dodging the Nidorino since it had picked the fight, but with the command made a quick round movement and collided its solid tail into the Nidorino's face, rendering it unconscious again. Just like that the fight was over. Volkner hadn't even taken his hands out of his pockets during the whole affair.

"The hell are you people!?" Joe screamed at Volkner angrily, but Volkner just stared back with eyes as sharp as his Luxray's.

"I'm the guy that will make you pay for insulting her."

"The hell are you talking about? I'm done with this idiocy, Machamp go over there and crush these idiots so I can finally go home!" The Machamp beat its fists against its chest as it started to walk up, apparently not as scared of Luxray as it first seemed. Volkner waited to see who was going to make the first move, Dick and Tracey recovering their Pokemon and trying to revive them yet again. "Okay Machamp, show them what you have with a Dynamic Punch on that pussy." The Machamp flexed its muscles and reeled its arms back. Truly there was a dynamic impact, but it didn't come from the Machamp's fist. Instead a huge beam of light shot from the side of the battle and knocked the creature off its feet and onto its back. Everyone looked over to see Misty, still looking like she had fire in her belly from earlier. Her Gyarados was recovering from firing its Hyper Beam at the Machamp and Bonnie and Clyde were still fleeing along with their own Pokemon away from Misty over to Joe, trying to hide behind him.

"Boss she's scary too!" Clyde protested and Joe took a swing at him, but due to how angry he was actually missed.

"I can't rely on you idiots to do anything right!" His Machamp was getting back to its feet, apparently not knocked out from the attack despite being hit directly. "Looks like Blondy needed his little girl to protect him. Well isn't that cute?" Volkner glared at him, then looked over to Misty who was coming back to join him.

"Misty it's okay, I can handle this guy myself."

"Be quiet would you." She snapped at him and he was a little hurt by her words. She sighed and looked at him. "Sorry... but I'm still angry at you. This isn't a gym battle okay, don't let pride get in your way. These are the bad guys and they wouldn't show you the slightest form of kindness. So don't treat them with it." Volkner didn't know Misty could be so ruthless when she was riled up, but he was surprised when she took his hand suddenly. "Lets just end this, now. Together." Luxray and Raichu were watching their master for a command, and after a while of looking at Misty's green eyes he smiled and nodded to the electric duo. "Okay guys, you heard her. This is the end, charge it up." The Raichu gave a happy little agreement of "Chu!" to them and jumped on the Luxray's back, who grunted unhappily at having to carry the weight. The duo began to concentrate and gather electricity around themselves.

"Starmie, rain dance!" Misty gave the order to her Pokemon as it began to spin about in a different manner, almost mesmerizing. Before long the clouds began to grow deeper in color and there was the feeling of light rain on the trainers.

"Like we're scared of a couple of tourists running around on our turf. Everyone, get ready to attack!" His gang clearly didn't have the heart anymore, Dick and Tracey reviving their Pokemon for the second time and it was taking a toll on them. Still after some well placed threats to their own physical well being the five thugs got themselves some courage and rallied to battle. When Joe gave the command they all began to charge at the two gym leaders Pokemon, who were storing up their energy for what Misty had claimed would be the end game. When it looked like they didn't have any more time for preparation and the Machamp was closing in on Luxray, they gave the command.

"Raichu, Luxray. Bring the Thunder."

"Starmie, Watergun! Gyarados, Hydropump!" Misty squeezed Volkner's hand hard as they released their attacks together. The Impact of the water attacks struck the crowd first dowsing them and holding them back. It was good for stopping the crowd for the next attack, unfortunately no one really saw it. When Luxray and Raichu called the lightning strike down from the rain clouds there was a bright flash and Volkner felt a huge wave of air pressure blow against his body. He was actually being knocked off his feet and he clutched Misty against himself as they were both thrown back onto the pavement from the explosion. The only sound Volkner could even make out seemed to be voices shouting "Team Missile is firing off again!", but he didn't understand it. After hitting the ground he took a moment to open his eyes and looked down.

"Misty... are you okay?" She was curled up against his body and after a moment blinked and looked up at him.

"Yeah... I think I'm alright." The two sat up off the ground and shook the cobwebs out of their heads. "What hit us? What was that?" Volkner couldn't really answer, it had felt like an explosion of some kind. When he looked forward to where the battle had been happening things made a little more sense. The pavement was cracked, scorched, like someone had let off a bomb in the street. Worse yet was Team Missile; their Pokemon and trainers scattered all over the street seeming to have taken the full brunt of the explosion. Well all the trainers except Bonnie and Clyde and their Pokemon. Maybe they'd been knocked so far away he couldn't see them anymore? Luxray and Raichu seemed fine but confused, luckily Misty's Pokemon seemed okay as well. As Volkner tried to figure out what caused all the damage Misty exclaimed the improbable. "Did we do that?"


	6. Always Sunny

Misty was reeling from the shock wave that had hit her and Volkner just moments earlier. Something had happened to cause some crazy explosion and she wondered if maybe they blew a gas main underneath the street. But it didn't look like the explosion came from there. Gyarados and Starmie were okay, and so were Volkner's Pokemon so that was all she was really concerned with. Team Missile was out though, that last attack laying them all down for the count. Except the two annoying ones she had to battle earlier. Apparently they had been blown farther than everyone else. It gave Misty a weird sense of deja vu.

It wasn't long before Officer Jenny was on the scene. Apparently the store owner had called the cops somewhere around the time the battle had broken out, and even without that the explosion was sure to bring in some attention. There was some quiet stares, some onlooking as more people were being drawn to the battle scene from its exciting conclusion and then a lot of questions to answer. Thankfully it was fairly brief since the store owner could back up everything they told to the cops. Still what an exasperating night. As Officer Jenny started to gather together the criminals and their Pokemon slowly but surely Misty leaned on Volkner for support. "What a night." She exhaled sleepily.

"Tired from all that battling?"

"Well it did have a pretty stressful ending don't you think?" Volkner gave a little laugh, he was still standing tall and strong and it gave her a place to rest her head against his arm. She was happy to have a place to lean on. Even if he did make her upset sometimes. "Oh yeah, I'm angry at you!" She exclaimed suddenly remembering.

"Still!? After all of that?" Volkner asked and Misty stopped leaning on him, crossing her arms in a defiant way.

"Well yeah, you kept something important from me and I had to learn it from a thug! That doesn't make me a happy girl." It seemed a little stupid and pointless now after the two had just gone through something so big but she didn't want to let it go. Maybe it was stubborn and even she had to admit it was a little dumb but she felt mad dammit!

"I didn't think it was such a big deal. I mean heck I was fine after wards, no one got hurt, and we even took out the people that threatened me." He motioned over to the display of collected Pokemon and Trainer bodies being thrown onto a truck to be taken to jail. Dick and his Pokemon were being escorted in while Tracey was waiting her turn, giving Misty the evilest of stares. She didn't care though, let the ugly witch be angry. The only one not on their feet was Bazooka Joe himself, apparently having taken most of the impact along with his Machamp. Volkner and Misty's Pokemon were allowed to sit on the side lines in case any of the criminals got out of hand again, talking amongst themselves in that language only Pokemon understand.

"Well I'm still upset at you so... you'll just have to deal with it!" Volkner sighed and tried to talk some sense into her but Misty wasn't going to hear it. They were close to getting into an argument before their conversation was broken by a newcomer.

"Are you guys okay!?" Sabrina ran up to the couple looking afraid. She must have heard that explosion all the way back at her gym. "I didn't know what happened. You two aren't hurt are you?" Sabrina was such a sweety. Misty hugged her real quick when she saw her again and tried to make a smile, still a bit annoyed but happy to see her friend.

"We're fine, it was the bad guys that got hurt." Sabrina looked over to where the criminals were being processed by Officer Jenny then back at the two of her friends.

"You two defeated them all by yourself?"

"Easily." Volkner commented smugly. "They called themselves Team Missile. Don't know what exactly they were trying to do but we caught them doing a dine and dash at the old man's restaurant. So we stepped in as good Samaritans and stopped them."

"Oh no, I didn't even know any kind of people like that were in my city." Misty thought it must have been a little embarrassing for a psychic to have something slipped past her. Poor Sabrina. "Well I should check on the shop owner. He's a friend of mine and I want to be sure he's okay." Sabrina walked towards the tavern past her friends and Misty prepared to get into it again with her boyfriend. Before they could though Sabrina stopped suddenly. "What's this?" She leaned forward (Volkner better not be checking out her ass or Misty was gonna nail him!) and picked up what looked like a CD case. "Hmmm... this looks odd. I think it's locked."

"Sabrina look out!" Sabrina didn't notice until the looming shadow was over top of her. Glancing forward Joe had gotten onto his feet with almost no one noticing his silent rise. He looked confused but clearly very angry and it was all aimed at Sabrina.

"Give... that... back!" His large hands were reaching out for her and Misty felt like time was moving in slow motion. She couldn't even react, and Sabrina seemed too surprised to defend herself from her attacker. The gang leader made a large, meaty fist and swung forward at Sabrina. She closed her eyes and Misty did the same afraid to see what was going to happen. She heard the deep thud of someone getting punched in the face and it was even worse than she imagined. There was a rustling sound as if something or someone hit the ground, but Sabrina didn't cry out. Scared but worried Misty opened her eyes to see Sabrina was still on her feet. Not only that it wasn't Joe that was in front of her any longer but Volkner, shaking his fist loose and looking down at Joe who had collided with the pavement again.

"What did I tell you! There's your punishment for insulting my girlfriend you steroid-freak." Like a Goddamn knight in shining armor Volkner had run out and saved the day, punching Joe in the face and knocking him down before he could touch Sabrina. It was like some kind of movie miracle. Volkner looked at his hand which apparently stung from hitting the large thug in the face, then looked over at Sabrina. "Are you okay?" She nodded to him, Misty couldn't see Sabrina's face as she looked at Volkner but she was suddenly jealous. She wanted to be the damsel in distress he saved. Okay she didn't really want to be a damsel in distress but if he was going to save a woman it should be her! Joe was groaning and apparently an explosion and a punch from Volkner still wasn't enough to put him down.

"Give that back you fu- AHHHH!" Even more lightning quick than Volkner himself was Luxray, who had sprung past the crowd of onlookers and on top of Joe's chest with a mighty paw. It looked down at him with a roar and bared its fangs, growling so intensely that even Misty thought it may actually try to eat him. Apparently alongside cute little Raichu Volkner had some pretty intense and dangerous Pokemon too. Volkner pet Luxray and thanked him for the save before Officer Jenny and her fellow policemen arrested Joe and carried him away, shouting curses the whole time. Sabrina was still looking over the disc that had been so important to Team Missile with mystery.

"I wonder what it is." She thought aloud as Misty and Volkner gathered around her to see as well.

"I'm guessing it must have some information on it that would be pretty valuable to sell. They didn't seem like the computer types." Volkner held out his hand and Sabrina handed it over. She looked at him shyly, then away.

"Thank you... Volkner... for saving me." Misty gave Sabrina a warning look even though she never thought her friend would actually try to crush on her own boyfriend. Volkner looked a bit dumb struck as to why she was saying it, then realized the reason.

"Oh. Uh... your welcome. Honestly I had been waiting for a chance like that since I met him. It felt really good, but I don't think it would have been near as effective if he hadn't been blown up already." That was true, his strength was amazing to be able to take an explosion and still fight. Misty hoped she wouldn't see this Bazooka Joe ever again.

"So what should we do with that thing?" Misty wondered aloud to her friends and after asking her question was answered.

"You found it!" An excited cry from the crowd came out as a man ran over to the trio. Misty felt like she knew him and realized once he was in eyesight why he seemed so familiar; it was the scientist from the Silph company tour. The one that had been so eager to talk to Volkner previously. Without his lab coat he was barely recognizable. "Oh you found it! Oh you're my heroes! I can't believe those criminals stole it from us!" They all looked on confused and Volkner slowly handed the disc over to the scientist, who cradled it like it was a baby. These tech heads were all weirdos to Misty. "Thank goodness, all our hard work is saved."

"What hard work is that anyway?" Misty asked aloud again and the scientist looked over at her. Suddenly aware he was in the presence of girls he seemed a bit self conscious like the last time Misty had seen him but he managed to get out the information to them.

"This disc contains blue prints to a very special project we're working on at Silph company. Something that could change the way trainers catch Pokemon forever!" Well that did sound important. No wonder Team Missile wanted it. "Somehow they managed to sneak into our building and steal it without being caught. We thought we were going to be ruined and lose all our jobs over this. But thanks to the amazing Volkner and his friends we can continue our work!"

"There was more than just the 'Amazing Volkner' there you know." Misty made the off handed comment but the only one that seemed to hear it was Sabrina. The scientist was fixated on his new hero.

"If you'd like I could let you know a few secrets about what we're working on, in exchange for saving all our data. But um..." He looked over at Sabrina and Misty and she just knew he was looking at them lower than eye contact. "I can only tell... other people that would understand it." Seems it was a boys only club. This jerk was rubbing Misty the wrong way. Volkner gave Misty a glance to see if she'd be okay with it, she shrugged and sighed.

"Go ahead, go to your secret little club. I'll wait here." Volkner didn't seem very convinced by her words but he was already being pulled aside by the scientist. The crowd was leaving now that the criminals had all been taken away and the restaurant owner was closing shop to clean up from this crazy night. Misty and Sabrina found a bench not too far away to sit under and Misty recalled her Pokemon into their Pokeballs so they were out of the street. With all the excitement having ended things were very quiet. Aside from Volkner and his new fan boy across the street there wasn't anyone else around. Misty sat on the bench a bit annoyed. Before she'd been mad at Volkner for not telling her he almost got hurt, now he saved her friend (which she liked, it was heroic) and maybe got her to crush on him (which she didn't like, but didn't think it was true), and finally she'd been shooed away while the big boys talked science. She was tired and riled up at the same time.

"You shouldn't be angry you know." Misty looked over as Sabrina spoke up. "He only kept that from you because he didn't want anything to ruin your time together." Apparently she'd figured it out either from looking at Misty's thoughts or from that reading earlier.

"Don't defend him Sabrina. Even if he had good intentions he should have confessed everything to me already." She didn't want to lose her reason to be mad at him but her anger felt more and more childish and she was already running out of steam on the subject.

"Really? So then you've told him about all the time you spent with Ash?" The name alone caused Misty's hair to stand on end and she looked at the sidewalk.

"N-no... but that's not important." She felt a twinge of guilt in her stomach but didn't know why. Ash had left forever ago, last time she saw him he was hanging out with Brock and that over-developed girl May. She guessed they never really broke up but they were never really together honestly. They were just kids then. "Besides, I'm sure he's had past girlfriends."

"He has. He'll tell you about her too, when he's ready." Misty shot a glance over to Sabrina. It was always a little strange when she mentioned something that she'd seen in the future like that. It was like a suggestion but you knew it was going to come true when she said it. "Don't judge too harshly Misty, you should enjoy your time together with him." Well it seemed Volkner had won himself another fan with his heroics.

"I know and I do. I've enjoyed everything together with him. Even this battle... even being angry... I've enjoyed all these things with him." She let out a sigh and pouted a bit. "I don't know, I'm just all mixed up right now. All I wanted to do was get home, pretend like I'd stayed in Saffron this whole time, and sleep at his hotel." Sabrina grinned at Misty's plan, regardless if she'd made it home or not she was going to let her sisters know that she wouldn't be back till the next day. "But now I feel like the whole night's ruined. I just don't have it in me you know?" Sabrina slid a little closer on the bench to Misty and rubbed her back reassuringly.

"Would you like it back?" Misty looked up again to her friend as they were sitting side by side now, a bit confused by the statement.

"Well yeah. I mean it would be nice for things to be like they were, so I could just cuddle up with him and forget this whole stupid mess." But that was a lot easier said than done. You can't just erase your feelings after all, even if you wanted things to be good. Her head was tilting down again with her thoughts as depression was settling in but Sabrina didn't give it the chance, putting her fingers under Misty's chin and lifting her head up.

"Then I'll give you a gift Misty. You can have your night of happiness back with him." Misty had no idea what that meant but the thought was blown away as Sabrina leaned in and kissed Misty right on the lips. It wasn't a kiss on the cheek that missed or something playful, she moved right in and locked lips with Misty. Her green eyes widened about as big as they've ever gotten, her friend currently making out with her on a bench in the middle of the street. She tried to look around to see if anyone was watching this but Sabrina kept her well held in place, there wasn't any escape. While her mind was rushing with all the reasons as to why the hell Sabrina would kiss her she began to feel calmer. Her anger had disappeared when the kiss hit and was replaced with shock, but now she was calming down, her body getting less tense and relaxing against Sabrina's. In fact the kiss was starting to feel less strange and a lot more comfortable. Her eyes were getting heavy, and closing slowly as she leaned in for more.

It was still a bit surprising, but when Sabrina's mouth opened and her tongue teased against Misty's lips she opened hers as well and let Sabrina enter. Her body was changing pretty quickly in its emotions. Anger and shock were far gone and her serene calm was being replaced with a new kind of fire inside her. The girls kissed passionately for a while now, Misty even putting her hands up and around her friend to hold her close. She should have felt confused, maybe even a little scared but all she could think of was how perfect she felt now. Her body was becoming aroused just from this little kiss and she clung to Sabrina's shoulders with her fingers, moaning a little into the kiss. When her skin was growing warm and it felt like she was almost too hot from desire to keep her clothes on Sabrina broke the kiss. Misty found herself leaning forward, pouting that she didn't get more but once it was broken the spell over her ended. She was still horny as hell, but she wasn't begging for Sabrina's kiss... as much. "What... what was that!?"

"I wanted you to be able to enjoy your night with Volkner like you wanted. I can't erase your feelings but I can give you something else to feel for a while. Did it work?" Did it work? She was about ready to jump Sabrina's bones she felt so good right now. Blushing brightly and catching her breath she looked at Sabrina's face who also was blushing. She guessed whatever that little mental trick was it worked both ways on them.

"It... worked alright. It worked really good." She was smiling and even though she should have been a little more freaked out that she just made out with Sabrina she was enjoying herself too much to let it bother her. "I mean wow Sabrina... that was amazing! I just hope Volkner will be in the mood because I'm not letting you do that to him too." Sabrina blushed and looked away, pointing her finger towards the street. Misty looked over and saw Volkner standing in front of them, jaw wide open and looking like he couldn't find a single word to say. He must have walked up at some point Sabrina started to "help" Misty with her problem.

"I don't think you'll have any problem getting his interest tonight." Sabrina muttered bashfully not making eye contact with either of them. Misty actually giggled a bit, she was feeling way better than she did earlier. Getting up she hugged her friend tightly and gave her an innocent kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you Sabrina, your a wonderful friend." Hopping up onto her feet again she could see Sabrina smile but she was still too embarrassed to look at them. Turning to Volkner Misty grabbed his hand. "Well lets go find that hotel, it's far too late to ride home now." Volkner still had his mouth open like he'd seen the most shocking thing of his life, just nodding a bit to Misty's suggestion. "Bye Sabrina! I'll call you before I leave!" Volkner held his hand up to wave to her before being dragged off by Misty down the street to their bikes, making him mount it and follow her the whole way to the hotel.

When they arrived Volkner looked like he was finally going to start talking again but he couldn't think of any words to say. Were her and Sabrina making out together really that hot? ... yes, yes they were Misty decided. Grabbing him by the hand she lead him into the hotel and requested a room for the night. Volkner was going to pay but Misty offered to take care of it for him, since he had already rented a hotel back in another city it didn't seem right to make him pay for another one. While they waited for the front desk attendant to get them their key Misty snuck her hand into Volkner's pocket to tease him a bit with her fingers. This was actually a lot more frisky than she normally acted even when she was eager to be with him, but Sabrina had unlocked something inside that just made her so very hungry for him. When after what felt like an eternity the couple finally got their room and managed to head upstairs without doing anything that brought too much attention to themselves. They even acted normal when they got to the door, slipping inside and turning the light on to look around. It was a pretty nice hotel room, one king sized bed and plenty of bathroom space. Clean and tidy. Locking the door behind them Volkner slipped his jacket off and sat on the bed, finally finding his voice again. "So... um... do you two often Mmmmff!" It was all he got out before Misty jumped onto his lap and began to kiss him.

"Volkner I love you!" She had meant to say she needed him but it came out like that instead, and maybe her emotions were better at speaking than her brain right now. "I love you a lot. Okay?" She kept kissing him between her words, slipping off her her suspenders as she pushed him down onto the bed on his back. "I'm sorry I was mean to you! Please, I need you to love me." Her words were a lot more desperate than she wanted them to sound but she just wanted him so badly right now. Volkner was already taking his own shirt off and helping Misty remove hers.

"Misty of course I love you." Even after everything that happened; the fight, the crazy mind readings, the Pokemon battle and her making out with her friend in front of him he still sounded so calm and well thought out. "Nothing is going to change that. I love you dearly." He hugged her against himself and Misty pressed her body to his as hard as she could. It was like she couldn't get close enough to him. She started to kiss his neck and his fingers went to work at her bra behind her back. After only three tries he had it undone, not bad considering. Once they slipped her bra away she slid down his body onto her knees, unzipping his pants and pulling at them.

"I hope your ready for me." She tried to sound sultry but it came out more cute with the tone of her voice, Volkner didn't seem to mind since when she pulled his pants away he was certainly ready for her. She stroked her fingers lightly around his erection, giving it long licks with her tongue and spreading the slick lube around him. Once his moans were becoming loud enough that she could tell it was teasing him she slide her lips over his erection and began to suck him. His hands moved through her hair and caressed her scalp so enjoyable. She kept her lips sealed around him tightly, making sucking sounds as her head bobbed up and down in his lap. Sabrina had done too well a job on her though, her body was burning for more. Unzipping her shorts she slid them down a bit to move a hand between her legs, rubbing herself while she gave him his blowjob.

Her fingers slid off his erection and down to his balls, cupping them in her hands and rubbing them gently. Seeing his body tense she was happy to find a sensitive spot, her tongue working around his erection in small circles in her mouth. He was moaning a lot louder now and Misty could feel him getting ready to release, the tension making her stroke herself a little more eagerly. Pulling her mouth up she moved her head in fast bobs over the tip of his erection, making his leg shudder from the friction. When he began moaning that he would cum soon Misty braced herself on his thighs and sucked hard at him, making as much friction with her lips as she could. She was rewarded soon after, his hot cum shooting off in her mouth. Misty held her lips around him while he did, she didn't want any of it to escape. Once his body stopped tensing and he leaned back more to relax Misty slipped her mouth up off his member with her lips, making him jump amusingly when she let him go with a little slurp. Getting up she slipped her shorts and panties off and walked over to the sink, filling and then drinking a glass of water. "Misty?" He asked breathing heavily from his spot on the bed. When she came back over she jumped on top of him and opened her mouth smiling, letting her tongue hang out. "You... you swallowed it?"

"Uh huh! What did you think?" She hadn't really done anything like that before and it wasn't as bad as she'd thought it would be, Volkner looked surprised by her new found sexual exploration but he certainly didn't seem bothered.

"It was... it was great. Your always great whatever you do." She smiled getting his praise, then reached down to grab her shorts and pulled them up off the floor. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out the condoms Sabrina had given them and held one up.

"You don't mind wearing one this time right?" Volkner shook his head not seeming to care.

"I guess it's about time we started being safer huh?" He took the package and opened it, Misty snatching the condom out of his hand and sliding it onto his erection herself, not wanting to waste a second of time.

"Especially since I'm draining you of everything I can tonight." She smiled and kissed him, happy he didn't pull away from her after getting that blow job. With that out of the way she could finally satisfy this hunger that Sabrina had unlocked. Misty lowered herself down onto him, her pussy was already wet and it slid inside easily to her pleasure. Now wasn't the time for complications and she wasn't going to let anyone stop her love making tonight! Feeling him slip inside she let out a loud moan of pleasure and leaned against Volkner's chest, bucking her hips on top of him. "It's so good!"

"Your so good." He breathed out to her, making Misty kiss him while still moving her hips on his erection. Her arms were gripping his shoulders for support and before long Volkner had his hands on her hips, pushing himself back up inside of her. The added bounce from the bed made this a lot more powerful than it had been in the woods or on the beach, causing Misty to claw into his shoulders lightly from all the pleasure.

"Don't stop don't stop don't stop!" It was all she could say or think as their bodies collided with each other repeatedly, her mind a wave of pleasure and she was finally about to come to the climax she was craving. She buried her face against his chest, shouting against his skin as her muscles clenched around him and she came hard. Her hands squeezed his shoulders so hard she was afraid she was hurting him but just couldn't stop, her body a wave of pleasure. Once her orgasm had passed she began to breath more slowly, calmly down a little but she found she was still hot and her body was still horny. "What did she do to me?" She asked out loud and Volkner blinked a little confused at the red haired girl. She laid her head on his chest and looked up at him shyly. "Um... were you able to go... for another round?"

"It was all you had to ask." He said with near the same eagerness as herself, flipping them over on the bed (king size was nice and big for rolling around) and laying over top of her, thrusting into her body again. Misty moaned happily, feeling him push deep inside as they both would sink against the mattress with his thrusts. Volkner's hands slid out from under her and rested on her breasts, rubbing them and kneading them together causing all sorts of pleasure to run through her body.

"Be rough." She usually didn't make such requests, what was happening to her? Whatever it was she was enjoying it, Volkner gripping her breasts in his fingers much stronger and it was almost a little painful but it made them feel better than she'd ever felt before. His fingers moved over her breasts and pinched and pulled her nipples lightly, testing how far she wanted to go. Normally this would be too much but tonight she couldn't get enough. "Oh my god that's so good! Make them feel good!" She was arching her back now into his grip and pulling at the pillow case so hard she might rip the fabric.

"I'll make sure you feel good my love." Her heart leaped up through all the lust when he called her that. Somehow it hit something innocent inside her that just made her happy. His arms wrapped around her back pulling her upward suddenly. After some rearranging of their legs to be in a more comfortable sitting position with her on his lap he began to thrust up into her, hitting her surprisingly deep from this spot and making her moan so loud she was scared the other hotel guests might hear. Volkner didn't seem to care though, he was smiling seeing her reaction and kept bouncing them on the bed and stabbing into her with his erection. Putting his hands behind her back he leaned her away in an arch and sucked at her nipples, giving Misty the revelation that she'd found a new favorite position. She was moaning so much now she was losing her breath but it felt too good to do anything else. Her breasts felt great with his lips against her and her body was already giving her another little orgasm from how deep he was hitting her. Still she wanted more, she wanted to keep this up. She wanted to keep surprising him and pleasing him as well as herself. That was when it hit her.

"V-V-Volkner! Wait wait! Wait!" She put her hands on his shoulders and obediently he stopped but looked a little worried like he was afraid he'd hurt her. Wanting to reassure she leaned in and kissed him on the lips lovingly then smiled. "I want to... try something new." She gasped the words out but managed to do so somehow. Slipping off his erection (she was already missing it) she crawled over to her shorts again and pulled out the small bottle of lube Sabrina had also given her. Maybe she'd foreseen this part as well. "Volkner, want to try doing it a new way?"

"Sure! I mean... I'll try whatever you want to." He was so eager for her she was pretty positive she could convince him of just about any idea now. Pulling out the lube she placed some on her hand and rubbed it behind herself and against her ass. It was a little cold and it felt really slick and kind of weird but not too unpleasant. When she was sure she'd put enough lubrication on that area she got on all fours and leaned forward.

"Volkner... do you want to fuck my ass?" The words were strange for even her to say but there wasn't any more direct way to ask. Volkner for his part nodded in agreement and moved behind her quickly. Misty figured she must have had a pretty hot ass like all those nerds on the internet that took pictures of her said, he wasn't able to resist it. Positioning behind her Misty felt him press against her and tried to relax her muscles, bracing herself on her arms. "Slowly... make sure you start slowly."

"Okay, let me know how fast to go." They both sounded a little awkward and even scared despite being eager to try this. Misty wanted to feel him in her again so badly but she had to wait, she was working up her courage for something new after all. The lube was working as Volkner pressed against her and Misty relaxed as easily as she could, feeling him start to penetrate. Once the tip was inside she let out a little yell of surprise and Volkner stopped quickly. "Should I pull it out?"

"No! No just... stay still." She was breathing hard getting used to the new feeling. He was so big and he never felt bigger until now in this virgin territory. Even with the lube she was a little scared she wouldn't be able to take him in. "Okay... okay slowly." Breathing in she felt him push in further, groaning a bit and wincing her eyes closed. It felt so different but she wanted to see this through to the end. She made him stop at least twice more before she began to learn how to control herself, pain giving away to more comfort than discomfort. Once she felt like she was finally ready she nodded her head and gave the word. "Okay... you can, but just be gentle." She moaned the words out, her sex was still begging for attention but she wasn't about to let this experiment stop now. Slowly Volkner began to move himself back and forth inside her and while it was still a bit uncomfortable she was growing used to it.

"Your so tight." Volkner said aloud and Misty couldn't agree more, this being the most difficult sex she'd ever had. Slowly Volkner's pace was increasing and even though it still hurt a little it was feeling good, really good. Misty began moaning with her eyes closed tightly, the mix of pleasure and pain making her glad she decided to try this. She had to remind him not to go too fast a few times but other than that she was feeling more satisfied then ever.

"Just keep going! Just keep going like that!" Laying her head against a pillow she managed to reach a free hand down between her legs and rubber her clit in small circles, her body was going crazy. "It hurts... it hurts but it feels good!" She wasn't even talking to Volkner now, just shouting her feelings aloud. As the couple began to have sex further Volkner's muscles tensed again and Misty could tell he was reaching his limit. She guessed her ass must have felt that good for him too. Laying her head down and bracing herself she was shocked when he came inside her. Even with the condom on it felt amazing and she felt herself orgasm as well while he came inside her ass. The couple moaned hot in their combined pleasure before both were finally satisfied. Volkner's hands were gripped tightly around Misty's hips and she was enjoying his possessive grip on her body. Still they had to lay down now.

"I'm going to pull out, okay?" Misty nodded and gripped the sheets, her sexual adventure over she was trying to prepare for the after math. Mercifully Volkner moved slowly, sliding his erection out of her ass and making Misty give a little concerned yell only when he finally exited her body. With him out and no reason to stay in that position any longer she collapsed onto her side and let out an exhausted sigh.

"That was amazing." She admitted through tired lips. Volkner had somehow kept enough energy to get off the bed and remove the condom, throwing it away. Misty's body was too sore from all the "exercise" they had went through to even think of moving. Before coming to bed Volkner was kind enough to clean their clothes away from its surface and help Misty slip under the covers. He then crawled in beside her on the other side and she slid to him right away to cuddle up against his chest. It was actually too hot for this but she wanted the embrace too bad to care. "Was it amazing for you?"

"It was like nothing I've ever felt before." He put his arms around her and Misty giggled tiredly against him. She felt proud of herself and pleasantly satisfied with her cravings taken care of. "This is going to be our first time tonight huh?"

"Yeah." She mused. "I didn't think I could ever do something like that before, but with that lube and the way I feel tonight it was like it was the best time to try." She felt kinda proud of herself, even if it was a weird thing to be proud of. But she'd satisfied herself and him and that was enough alone to celebrate.

"I didn't mean that, but yeah it was our first time." Volkner was smirking and Misty blinked curious. "I mean this will be our first time sleeping in a bed together."

"Oh... oh yeah!" She smiled with the sudden realization, then cuddled up closer to him. How could she not think of that. "I guess it's just a day of firsts for us huh?"

"I guess so." He stroked her cheek gently with his thumb and Misty purred into his hand. "Oh I didn't think of this until just now but are you a cover hog?" She actually laughed out loud a little, what a question at a time like this.

"Well I've never really... spent a night with someone... like this way." She admitted shyly. Misty wasn't a virgin before she met Volkner and she'd been in a bed with a man in the past but it never really got to this point before. "I guess you'll be the first to know. When I was little I think my sisters might have complained about it but who can remember?" She smiled and cuddled into him. "Good night Volkner."

"Good Night Misty." He said back to her and hugged her tightly as they closed their eyes together. The two began to drift off to sleep close to one another.

"... want to get rid of this comforter?"

"Yes!" Volkner exclaimed to her question and they both kicked the heavy blanket away, with the light sheet on they once again, now much cooler, returned to slumber in each others arms.

**********

Sabrina had managed to make it all the way back to the gym somehow without any trouble. Normally no one would bother her anyway although every so often a trainer or a member of the city council would talk to her about some business or another with the gym. But this late at night the only attention had been on Misty and Volkner's amazing battle that resulted in the two doing... something. She didn't know what but it had something to do with her prediction she was aware. Their combined powers unlocked some reaction that neither them or herself could understand right now and she would be interested to know more about it in the future. Not that she had a choice, as a psychic with precognitive powers Sabrina often saw things without concentrating or even asking to. Especially if it was about people she had a connection with. While she had just met Volkner her and Misty were friends and that alone was enough for Sabrina to have a watchful third eye over her from time to time. She just wished she could shut it right now.

Her little gift to Misty unlocked her desires for her lover and while she wasn't totally sure how that would turn out for her she knew it would get Misty in the mood. She didn't want them to be fighting, especially after visiting her, and she certainly didn't want them to be frustrated with one another so she felt that she'd given them something of a present with Misty's mental aphrodisiac. Unfortunately the side effect was a bit difficult to suppress and now that Sabrina had unlocked that little Pandora's box she couldn't shut it.

When she finally got back to the gym on foot she closed the door behind her, locked it and exited the lobby to head straight for her bedroom. Her skin was hot and she felt extremely aroused. She was sliding out of her clothes before she'd even made it to the bedroom; a trail of her tank top left behind her along with her bra shortly after and then her pants. Walking to her room in just her panties she laid on her bed and began to massage herself through the white cloth almost immediately. She was so eager, she wanted attention so badly right now from someone, anyone (Volkner). No. That wasn't accurate, more correctly it wasn't true to her own desires. Her link with Misty from their time together let her feel things that her friends felt. Their sadness, their happiness, their lust (feeling that so intensely now) and sometimes even their love. She could feel Misty's love for Volkner. He was attractive and seemed like a nice enough man but she didn't love him, it was just the side effect from being around them when they were so... focused on each others affections. She just wished she had someone for her own affections, so she could stop concentrating on theirs.

It was proving harder than she imagined as that third eye was still giving her glimpses into their fates, and letting her see what they were up to. The picture wasn't clear but she could see they were at a hotel room, they wanted each other. Misty was giving him her affection first, showing it with her mouth. Sabrina tried to block it out but it was in her own thoughts now. Lifting her hand one of her dresser drawers opened with her psychic powers and a purple dildo floated out of the pantie drawer and into her hand. She was a little ashamed at how much attention this toy got sometimes but she needed it now more than ever. Slipping the toy into her mouth she sucked at it eagerly, her fingers slipping inside her panties now and into her sex. Like this she could get lost, forget that she was on her bed in her wet panties licking a toy, instead imagine and get lost in the idea she was somewhere else with another man's erection between her lips.

She let this fantasy play out, trying to think of the man in her mouth and picture them making love. At first in her own fantasy it was just some faceless male that was filling her mouth but she didn't mind. Then his features began to change to Volkner's and she realized she was spying on them again unwillingly. She could see them clearly, Volkner mounting over top Misty as they made love on the bed in their hotel room. Slipping off her panties she felt dirty with her unintentional voyeurism but her body needed it too badly to argue. Slipping the toy between her legs she started to masturbate with the dildo like a woman watching a porno; only this one had her friends in it and made her feel ashamed.

Sabrina began stroking herself faster with the toy and letting out fast, repeating moans that men all over Saffron have only imagined after seeing the beautiful gym leader. Her body was clenching from the friction and her toes were curling, she could feel her orgasm coming on heavy (they always were). Still she was watching them make love in her mind, now the couple moving up to a seated position that was making Misty shout in a way that Sabrina had to admit even sounded erotic to her. Licking her finger tips with her free hand she began to tease her nipple, helping her finally reach the orgasm she'd been so desperate for. Pressing her feet on the bed her hips lifted up and off the mattress, holding the toy in her as she let out a high pitched, almost quiet moan of pleasure. As she arched up she could feel her wetness drip down her thighs and onto her ass, feeling embarrassed about how she always made such a mess but grateful it was over. As she began to slip out the toy from her eager sex she tried to close off her third eye from her friend's passionate night, not wanting to spy anymore than her body had made her.

She'd succeeded, but not before she saw it. Right before she had forced her powers to stop focusing on them she saw Misty leaning forward, ready to try anal sex for the first time with her lover. When the image went black and Sabrina thoughts were now alone in her room with her she let out a sigh, staring at the wall opposite of her bed. She looked at the small table and stools where her and her friends had tea earlier that day, then back at the wall. She repeated this step for a good five minutes before sighing in surrender to herself. "You might as well try it."

Working up her courage Sabrina got onto all fours on her bed and positioned the toy behind herself. She nervously gulped as she lined the toy up against her ass and pushed it against herself lightly. Despite the will and desire she was having trouble getting it in, and found she just couldn't get herself to push any harder than she was. Sighing a little she dropped the toy on the bed and blushed getting another idea. Sliding her fingers up herself between her legs again she pushed one against her lower entrance and found it entered her ass much more easily. Wince a little at the sudden invasion she herself was performing she began to stroke with her finger until she found a way that felt pleasant. Once she was able to get her muscles comfortable with the feeling she began stroking herself with increasing speed, those fast noises of pleasure escaping her lips again. She could see why Misty tried it. As she began to tease her ass with further exploration she wanted to get to her orgasm faster, wanting that pleasure and addiction to this feeling to release her. Even though focusing was hard she managed to lift the toy off the bed with her psychic powers and push it into her pussy.

The combined effect of the toy inside her and her finger teasing her ass was great enough to make her shout loudly in pleasure, had anyone been in the gym they would have not been able to avoid the sounds of Sabrina's sensual shouts. Closing her eyes tightly little tears escaped the corners as she moved her finger in deeper, the toy pushing hard against her pussy with deep thrusts. She actually bit into the pillow her head rested on and moaned through her teeth as her toes curled again and her ass lifted straight into the air, her body coming harder than she had before. Once the pleasure had finally passed through her and she felt her thighs become embarrassingly wet from her climax she carefully removed her hand from herself and slipped the toy out, laying on the bed on her stomach.

She closed her eyes and breathed hard after her self service session. Now after all this had passed she actually didn't have anything else to do. She should have gone to bed but she was feeling dirty and instead forced herself to get up. Slipping off her socks which were the only things she'd been wearing at this point she walked to her own private bathroom and turned on the shower. Once it was warm enough she let the water run over her body and sighed. "So this is how my night ends?"

She didn't like to dwell on it but being around the two of them tonight, with everything that had happened she was forced to acknowledge it; she was lonely. She liked that her friend came to visit time to time and many of her students and fellow trainers in the gym were good company but that wasn't what was pulling at her heart. She wanted that romantic connection, she wanted to feel that same kind of love. There were men that wanted her, there were even women that lusted for her. She knew because those thoughts were often so close to the surface that she couldn't avoid reading them. Secretly she may have even liked to hear them a bit. But deep down she wanted more. It wasn't like she wasn't pretty; she knew she was. The problem was the same one she always had when it came to a romantic relationship. She just knew too much. She could see into another person's heart so easily that it scared even her sometimes and she instantly knew more than the other person could ever know about her. So it created a rift, and eventually a wedge, and then drove all her past lovers away.

Sabrina turned off the water when she felt sufficiently clean and stepped out of the shower, stopping to gaze at herself in the mirror. With the towel wrapped around herself in a snug, form fitting way it was very sexy indeed. But she wanted that person that would accept more than her body. The person that love her heart and her mind and all the things that came with her powers and responsibilities. Even the weird side of her that would make her amazingly confident at times and shockingly vulnerable at other moments. There had to be someone out there right? There had to be hope? She could find out. Looking into her own eyes she knew she could find out. All she had to do was look into the future like she had for Misty and Volkner. Just take a peek at her own fate, it wasn't too hard to do when it was for yourself. She locked eyes with the woman in the mirror, concentrated and... watched the tears well up.

She couldn't do it. She was too scared. To know one's future was already a little frightening with how many possible outcomes there could be. To look ahead and either see the thing you want and know if your going to get it or possibly lose it. Or worse never have that thing at all. She didn't have the confidence to tread those waters. So gathering herself together, wiping her tears away Sabrina stood up and dried herself off. She put on her pajamas and got into her bed and closed her eyes. She wasn't a little girl that could spend the night feeling sorry for herself. She was a grown woman, a respected trainer and gym leader. She would be just fine.

But it would be nice to have someone in that bed with her to reassure it.

**********

With night's passing and morning's sunrise light slipped into the hotel room through the blinds and onto the sleeping couple. They laid in bed, naked and exposed as the night proved to be too hot even for their light sheet and they had kicked it off to be more comfortable. Volkner had opened his eyes and awoken a few minutes ago but he didn't have the energy to stand up and Misty was still sleeping soundly. He admired the red head as she laid in bed in the dim morning light of the room and rolled around a little to get more comfortable. Misty groaned with his movements and rolled about a little herself but didn't seem to wake up. It wasn't until a half hour later after falling asleep and waking up again that she finally rose with a large yawn and sat up in bed, looking around confused. She must have thought Volkner was still asleep since she got up without a word and walked to the bathroom. Volkner rolled around in the now fully open bed to get more comfortable, having been pushed to the side a little in the night by the smaller girl. Funny how she could take up so much room despite him being bigger. Once she had finished her business Misty walked back out into the dark hotel room and picked up the phone. "Hello, yes can you connect me to the Saffron City Gym please? Thank you." Misty sat on the edge of the bed carefully and stayed on the phone for a bit, Volkner expecting her to connect with Sabrina. Some time actually passed before Misty did speak again. "Hi Sabrina, I guess your still asleep. I just wanted to say thank you for letting me come by with Volkner yesterday and that I'm really happy that I got to see you and I guess we're going to be headed back to Cerulean. So yeah, if you want you can call me tonight or I'll call you, maybe you'll know which will happen already. Okay, bye bye!" She'd gotten the voice mail apparently. Misty got back into bed and rolled over closer to Volkner as she rested.

"So, we're not having breakfast with Sabrina this morning huh?" Volkner spoke up in a deeper, froggy voice you sometimes get when you first wake up and speak.

"No, guess not." Misty let out a little disappointed sigh. "Sometimes she gets really bad head aches or she sees something and doesn't want to leave that day or something like that. I don't want to bother her if she's having trouble today so we should probably just head back." Volkner nodded and cleared his throat so he could talk a bit more clearly. Sitting up in bed he stretched his arms out and looked around the darkened room then back to Misty.

"Well that was a pretty relaxing night don't you think?" Misty let out a happy noise and curled up closer to him, nuzzling her body against his side. He laid down again to hug her against himself and the couple rested in each others arms like how they had fallen asleep before. Volkner began to stroke his fingers through her hair and she groaned into him, curling her head down.

"That feels good." She said aloud to him and they relaxed there for a bit until it seemed that the sun was getting brighter behind the blinds and the clock was letting them now they should start moving.

"I guess we should get ready before check out time hits." Misty let out an unhappy groan this time but eventually gave in and sat up along with Volkner. "Should we hit the shower, together?" Misty smirked at him when he suggested it. "Would save time."

"Okay, fine!" Misty gave a mock attitude of being put out but was smiling brightly. "Your going to have to wash my back though, got it?"

"I'll wash all of you if I'm allowed to." Misty smiled and Volkner was certain she was shaking her hips extra when she walked into the bathroom. It got him to follow quickly.

One long shower later, quick task of cleaning themselves up a little and throwing their clothes on the couple was downstairs and just in time to enjoy a free small breakfast from the hotel. It was the basic stuff of cereals, fruits and a few cooked items and even some Pokemon food pellet bags you were allowed to take. Once they had fed themselves and checked out Volkner and Misty headed outside to feed their Pokemon as well. Volkner snuck out a few of the eggs from the breakfast to let Electivire and Luxray get something more as a treat since they had fought so hard last night for him. When everyone was taken care of the gym leaders recalled their Pokemon back and set out on their journey back to Cerulean. It felt good to work his muscles so early in the day and Volkner was considering getting a bike for himself when he got back to Sinnoh. Would help him keep up with Misty with all the activity she seemed to do on a regular basis. They passed by most of the same people they had seen on the way into Saffron (in the exact same locations funny enough) on their trip back up to Cerulean. The scenery started to become more familiar as they rode in and Volkner thought he saw some happiness in Misty's face recognizing her home. When they were on the main road again Misty stopped midway and gave a suggestion that shocked him. "Want to come over to my house today?"

"Really? I mean... we've been avoiding your sisters for most of this vacation." Misty had spoken of the trio in less than favorable terms. She didn't seem to dislike them but was avoiding having Volkner around for any activities that they were all present for. She was probably embarrassed to be around her older sibling but now seemed confident.

"Yeah they can be a pain but if we don't have you spend a little time with them they'll bug me until the next time you visit." Despite the complaint she seemed cheerful, apparently last night really boosted her attitude. Volkner didn't dare say anything for fear that she might get upset again with the less than happy events that unfolded. "Your not afraid to meet them right?" Volkner looked to the side a bit.

"Well no... I mean I already met them sort of but I just..." He was trying to find the right words. "Don't want to come off in any bad way around your family." Misty shrugged it off not caring in the least.

"Oh don't even worry about it, all that matters is what I think of you. Besides there's nothing bad about you they could say, right?" Volkner didn't know how to answer that since he didn't really know what they thought of as a "good boyfriend" for their little sister. He was a few years older than her but it didn't seem like so much that it should be a huge problem. He was treating her well as far as he thought, and Misty didn't seem like she was unknown to sex so he was pretty sure he didn't do anything that was out of line there. Nodding in agreement he peddled along after the red head and followed her first to the bike shop to return their rented transportation and then a little walk to the Cerulean City Gym. Volkner gulped a bit entering this place for a second time. Her sisters had been polite with him when they first met but he wasn't sure if they really understood their relationship then. Now it was more than clear what his intentions were and he just hoped they would be understanding. Walking past the large and admittedly impressive aquarium they were now headed back to the home part of the gym. The door up from the aquarium's feeding stand led right into the living room where no one actually was sitting. Misty looked around a bit and knocked on the door. "Hello, is anyone home!?"

"Misty!" A voice called out from beyond the room and dark blue haired woman walked out wearing an apron over what looked like a pretty trendy shirt and shorts combination for doing house work. "Like where have you been!?"

"It's okay Violet, sorry I didn't call. We ended up staying the night in Saffron City." Violet didn't look too pleased with the statement, still upset her sister had apparently not called to check on her.

"You couldn't have like, let us know? You told us you'd be back that night. I called the hotel, and nothing. I like called the bike shop; nothing. I totally called Saffron Gym too this morning and no one answered." Wow, Sabrina must have really been out of it. He guessed all the excitement from yesterday took a toll on her.

"Sorry sorry okay, I didn't think you'd get so upset. I mean when I used to travel around before you guys never worried about me like this." Volkner blinked wondering what that traveling was and thought he should ask her later. Violet shook her head again still not satisfied.

"You were totally with people we knew, okay. It's waaaaaay different." She sighed and shrugged, seeming to drop it. "Well whatever, like you should totally help me with lunch then since you ran out on us last night."

"Well me and Volkner kind of had breakfast not that long ago so..." She was coming up with an excuse but Violet didn't seem as though she was going to let her get away, grabbing her by the arm.

"No way little sis, your stuck with me. Your hunky boyfriend can wait in the living room, okay?" She winked at Volkner and pulled at Misty's arm who looked like she was legitimately trying to escape but there wasn't any hope on the death grip Violet had. She gave an apologetic look to Volkner as she was pulled away and he was left in the hall. Feeling a bit confused Volkner looked around himself and just went along with Violet's suggestion, heading into the living room and sitting down on the couch. He looked around for a bit and managed to find three different remotes. Fiddling around with it he managed to pin point which ones were the TV, the sound system, and the cable box. Before long he had it covered and was scanning the local television stations.

"Well you figured it out totally faster than Daisy ever did." Volkner looked up at the sudden voice, a pink haired woman wearing a mini skirt and tank top was leaning on the door way entry and watching him. "Like you finally decided to bring our sis back home?" He recognized the girl from the first time he'd come over. She was the one that commented on water and electricity not mixing.

"Yeah, sorry it took us so long. We ran into a little trouble in Saffron." Her eye brows perked up in curiosity at the statement and she walked into the room, Volkner noticing she had the same kinda sexy walk that Misty did. Apparently appealing girls with swimmer's bodies ran in the family. Sitting down in the same easy chair she'd been in when Volkner first came to visit she gave him a sly grin.

"So like what kind of trouble you get her into?" Volkner thought this answer out carefully. Saying they were attacked by a group of thugs because he started a fight wasn't in his best interest, but lying was not allowed either. Time for choice words.

"We got caught up in a Pokemon battle before we left for the night. When we were all done Misty was so tired she said she'd rather spend the night in Saffron than peddle back up to Cerulean. Since it was so dark out." Lily nodded in agreement with the statement and quietly watched Volkner as he talked. She seemed a little sharper than the other two sisters and he was trying to watch himself around her.

"So you guys totally spent the night in a hotel together in Saffron, huh? And like so far away from her home? Wow, that's interesting don't you think?" She was smiling to herself like a cat playing with a mouse but he knew a thing or two about deadly cats.

"Well it was her idea and I didn't want us to be at risk, so I agreed to it. With Sabrina near by I knew she felt safe." Okay drop her friend's name, that made you seem more responsible if you knew her friend. Lily was still watching him closely and Volkner decided distraction was in order. "So uh... you guys have a lot of channels."

"Totally. You can even get channels from other regions on here." Volkner blinked and asked if that was the case could he see anything from Sinnoh. Lily agreed to help and took the remote showing him how to get there. Between all the "likes" and the "totally's" she was actually pretty intelligent, he just wished she didn't talk like a mallrat. Once she located the section of channels from Sinnoh Volkner was surfing with the remote now and recognizing program names.

"You guys have a really nice theater set up." Their TV and surround sound system in the living room was top notch, he was surprised they had such a nice home set up. Lily giggled a bit to herself at the comment.

"Like when your totally hot and your job has you in a swim suit you can get all sorts of stuff, y'know." Well that... made a lot of sense actually. Lily didn't seem like the type to mince words no matter how valley girl sounding. She was rather clever in her dealings. Volkner began scanning the channels until he noticed his local news.

"Well I guess I might as well see what's happening at home." Clicking the remote the screen went black as it was picking up the signal. When it cut back it showed several people all on a beach. There was music, people were dancing, and there were lots of pretty girls in swim suits being portrayed. Volkner felt a little embarrassed as Lily was looking over at him and when he was finally able to make eye contact with her all he could muster was "Honest I really thought this was the local news channel."

"It isn't?" A voice chimed up next to Volkner and he jumped a little noticing the blond girl on the couch next to him. He recognized her as another of Misty's sisters but couldn't remember her name. "It looks like a beach party to me, at least it looks like a party. It's totally on the beach though. Oh hi again! I'm Daisy, like do you remember?" She smiled all bubbly and Volkner nodded slowly back to her not sure what to make of her sudden appearance. How'd she sneak in like that? "So that's your home?"

"Yes, I mean no. I mean... I don't really know. I swear this was the news channel." As he was about to check the channel select again the camera suddenly cut over to a dark haired woman in a one piece bathing suit. She was smiling to the crowd and holding a microphone in her hand. "Okay now I know this is the news, that's the news caster right there."

"Hello Sunyshore City from Sunyshore Beach!" The woman stated cheerfully to the camera, cheers behind her as she said the name of the city. "Cindy Reel here reporting from the beach where fun is in the sun today. It's all thanks to one very generous man that made it possible. Lets meet that man now." The girls and Volkner seemed really curious as to what this could be about as the man came on screen. Lily was the first to react.

"Like what's up with that hair of his?" She judged a bit harshly looking over the benefactor of the beach. Daisy seemed to have a different opinion.

"Wow, he's cute! I wish I was totally out there at the beach. Don't you like wish you could be back home too for that Volkner? Volkner?" The girls looked at the blond man but he didn't have anything to say, he was staring at the screen much like how he'd been at Misty and Sabrina the previous night; slack jawed and amazed. Cindy Reel continued with her news report.

"As the current gym leader here in the city filling in for Volkner, do you have anything to say to your fans on the beach?"

"Why yes I do Cindy." The red afro man smiled slipping down his sunglasses to wink at the camera. "I just want to give a shout out to my people that it's always sunny in Sunyshore!" He cheered to the crowd who all threw their hands up and cheered back to him.

"Wow, quite a reaction huh Flint?" Cindy finally clued the Cerulean sisters in to the man's name for Daisy and Lily. "So what inspired you to open up the gym on the beach today? And everyone really wants to know where's Volkner for such an event?" The girls turned their eyes back to Volkner who hadn't moved a muscle once he'd seen Flint on the screen. All he could think was that he better not snitch on him on television of all places.

"Well Cindy..." Flint took off his sunglasses to talk to the camera directly. "Volkner had some business of his own to attend to and asked me to keep shop while he was away. Sure I could have just filled his shoes for the week. But this is Flint we're talking about. Volkner may have a spark that excites the trainers, but I'm the flame that gets the fire started under everyone, am I right?" He called out to the crowd again and got a reaction from several young ladies cheering him on. Lily looked at the TV somewhat impressed.

"Volkner, you like, know this guy? He seems pretty popular." Fangirls... Flint had fangirls. What the hell had happened to the world? Maybe he died in that explosion last night and this was all just a dream in his head. "Nice body too." Good grief, these girls were becoming fans too!

"Hey I totally saw him first Lily!" Daisy pouted, Volkner wasn't sure what was reality anymore. The news caster continued with the story on screen as it was cutting to shots from other parts of the beach. It showed his Magmortar working a grill and cooking food for people on the beach, his Flareon and Houndoom were running along with several children playing fetch and even his Infernape had a shot of it playing volley ball with other people on the beach.

"As a good guest I wanted to make sure I left a special impression. So this day only, all day, we'll have people able to get free food and drinks from our snack bar. You can play games we'll have set up on the sand, go swimming and of course, have a Pokemon battle. Where you can earn one of these unique badges!" Flint held up what looked like any old Lighthouse badge that anyone could have earned from battling Volkner. Even Miss Cindy Reel didn't seem to see what was so special and looked on awkwardly.

"That's... very impressive?" She asked not sure what to say, to which Flint flipped the bade around and showed the little sticker with a picture of a flame on the back.

"Thank you Cindy, I thought you'd think so. If you want you should stick around. I'm sure we could make room for you next to the battle area." Flint was playing it extra cool now that he had his own little fan club that didn't consist of a bunch of burly men. The news caster shook her head and politely declined, then begin to give her closing report. By this time Violet and Misty had come into the room as well to watch the report. Misty was exchanging glances between the screen and Volkner looking at his reaction. Each one of Misty's sisters seemed confident in the decision that Flint was a fairly attractive man. The real clincher came though as he walked away from Cindy Reel to his lawn chair next to the battle area. That's when they, and everyone else watching the news saw it.

"Oh wow." Daisy couldn't even manage to fit a like into there as she stared.

"Well I do like a man that's totally confident with his body." Lily was smiling calmly as she was watching the sight before them.

"That's the guy you like left in charge of your gym?" Violet asked a bit surprised.

"Why... why is he wearing that?" It was all Misty could muster as Flint's body was in full screen now, showing off the dark blue Speedos that were doing just barely a good enough job to hide what was beneath them. Further more there was a small yellow lightning bolt pattern that went down the back, and when he turned to sit you could see it was down the front too. Flint had a crowd of young women around him as he supervised the next Pokemon battle. "Where did he even get something like that?"

"They were mine." Volkner had his face in his hands now, as if looking at the screen had robbed him of his sight. He was rubbing his eyes in the palms of his hands and could feel but didn't see the stares coming from Misty and her sisters. His girlfriend finally got the courage to ask.

"What do you mean they were yours?"

"Well I'm not taking them back!" He responded a bit flustered from the sight that had left the screen and was now proceeding to boring yet thankfully Speedo-less news. The room was quiet before Daisy was kind enough to end the silence.

"So like, can I have them then?"

**********

Flint was currently sitting arena side as he was supervising a battle between a cute little beach babe and a guy in swim trunks that obviously liked her. They'd laid down some white stone to make the arena outline and let people battle on the beach with rules and location. Flint was lounging in a lawn chair with two more chairs on either side of himself, and four girls crowded around him. Most looked high school age or older but Flint wasn't really looking for that, he was just enjoying the attention. Was nice to have fans. "One point for blue side!" He held up a hand to the girl's side of the small arena, her jumping up and down as her Gardevoir got a victory over the boy's Gallade. He didn't seem too upset by it though, more fixated on the girl in her bikini hopping for joy. Yeah... everyone was having a good time.

"Oh Flint, it sure is great having you run the gym in Sunyshore." A blond haired girl with pig tails commented on his side, she was wearing a blue one piece suit with a little skirt around the waist.

"It has been fun huh? Volkner never did anything like this when he was running the gym." The girl with the long red hair spoke up, he was getting the impression the girls were all sisters but he didn't have any proof. He couldn't really remember their names either, they all started with B though. The red head in the pink bikini had some name that was like a flower he knew. "How come you were able to do this and he wasn't?"

"Well girls, it's not that Volkner couldn't have done this." He thought anyway, I mean it seemed like such a simple idea at the time. Town has a beach, why not throw a beach party to attract trainers (and ladies). "It's just while Volkner has the charge to start intense battles, I've got the flame to battle and party all night long!" They girls laughed and swooned around him. Damn it felt good having fans. As the boy and his would-be girlfriend left the arena after getting their turn to battle Flint looked around to see if anyone else wanted a turn. "Looks like the arena is clear for now. What did you ladies want to do?"

"We should all go swimming!" The white haired girl in the white swim suit spoke up cheerfully, her name was Bell he thought if he remembered right. Swimming sounded fun enough and Flint got up out of his chair before one of his new groupies cut him off.

"Hold on a second, you promised me a battle!" The dark haired girl in the jean shorts and the green sports top stood before him looking pretty intense. From the small six pack she had on her stomach he could tell she was the muscle of their little quartet. Butter... something was her name, he couldn't recall for the life of him.

"Okay okay, I don't want to break a promise after all. We can have a battle first for you to try and get a badge, then we'll go swimming. How's that sound girls?" He thought they'd be depressed but they actually seemed thrilled to watch the Pokemon battle. Flint was digging this, things were going better than he expected. Everywhere he looked around the beach people were eating or sunbathing or just playing games like Volleyball or playing with their Pokemon. People of all ages had come down for the party and he planned to run it until the sun went down and it was too late to do anything more but sleep. Walking along the sand he tried to find one of his Pokemon that had been entertaining at the party, Infernape at least. Someone for him to battle alongside with. Once he located Infernape running around with some kids chasing a ball he called him over for the battle. The Pokemon was reluctant to stop playing but understood its master's request and began to slowly walk over to Flint. "Heh, guess he's upset at having to leave his fun."

"Hope the fun isn't ending, we just got here to have some ourselves." Flint turned to see who it was that commented on his talking out loud and saw about four men, all muscle bound and all of them wearing Speedos that made Flint question his choice of beach clothes. "How's it going Flint, been a while."

"Oh hey, it's you guys!" Flint was taken aback at the sight of all the dudes in skimpy beach wear for a second but then he recognize who it was; his fan club! "I didn't think you'd all come out to Sunyshore just for this."

"Are you kidding man, no way we'd miss it! Been looking forward to it since you announced you were taking the gym over and hosting a party on your webpage." He guessed people really did read that thing after all. Flint had posted information about wanting to have a beach party the first day he took control of the gym but he didn't think anyone was actually reading it. At least his efforts weren't wasted. "So you mind if we get some battles in after we set up our beach stuff?" They were all carrying a lot of equipment and it was apparent they planned on hanging out for the whole day. More the merrier.

"Sure, not a problem at all guys!" Flint smiled and greeted his fan club with welcome. After all not often he had this many people around just to see him. "Was about to do one myself with the girls over here. Oh that reminds me, girls these guys made up one of the first Fire-Type Pokemon clubs I'd ever gotten to know. Call themselves Flint's Fla..." When he turned to face them again there was a sight Flint had always hoped to see but these weren't the conditions he wanted them in. Each one of the girls had a faint, glazed over look in their eyes as they admired the group of men that had come onto the beach. He guessed it made sense, these guys did take good care of themselves.

"Hey it's okay man, we'll talk with you later." The group nodded to Flint and walked past him and the arena area, the girls eyes all following along with them. When they finally set up a place for their beach gear the girls ran over to Flint and crowded around.

"You know those guys!?" The red head asked hurriedly, she had a look in her eyes like a dog that had just gotten a whiff of something good to eat. "Can you introduce us!" Each of the girls looked super eager, even the one in the green top that had wanted a battle earlier. Flint sighed and shook his head, they didn't realize.

"You know girls, before you go talking to them you should know that..." How to say it? I mean not many people knew he had a fan club, or that it was primarily gay men as members only. They looked on with eager gazes moving between him and the men. "... they probably don't have girlfriends." The girls squealed in delight and ran off away from the arena to where Flint's Flames were setting up. Oh well, let them learn on their own. Should be a pretty entertaining outcome. Flint walked back over to his lawn chair and sat down again, Infernape finally arriving and looking annoyed that no one was around to battle. "Oh sorry buddy, all my female company ran off on me." Infernape gave a grunt of disapproval and looked over as shadows were starting to fall on them.

"Mind if we take the place of your little fangirls?" A woman's voice spoke up and Flint looked over very eager to see what he was in store for. First glance showed them from the waist down and there was a collection of three very sexy girls coming up on his side. Flint was grinning wide again then felt the smile drop when he looked up. "It's okay right?"

"Oh... hey Gardenia." Her again. Funny how she'd managed to show up so often lately when he was busy with other matters. She wasn't alone this time though, Candice and Maylene were at either side. She wasn't making him feel any less awkward in checking her out than last time either. Gardenia was wearing a green (expectantly) bikini that she had a thin wrap around her waist like a little skirt that didn't do much to hide her generous curves. Candice was just as bad if not worse, she was younger than Gardenia but still had a pretty womanly body and her two piece blue and white bikini was a little suggestive for a high school girl. Well... maybe not looking at some of the girls on this beach. Last was Maylene who had on a one piece swim suit that reminded him of the kind school girls wear during their gym classes. This would normally all be a very welcome sight but Flint was sure they were here to grill him some more on information on Volkner. "Yeah you girls can sit where you like, all the seats opened up."

"Yay, Infernape is here!" Maylene ran over and hugged him around the neck in a very cute and innocent way. "Hey, want a friend to play with?" She commented and reached into her duffel bag, pulling out a Pokeball and releasing Lucario. The two Pokemon looked at each other, spoke in their little Pokemon language and eventually ran off on the beach together. Maylene was smiling the whole time. Candice and Gardenia were more focused on taking their spots on either side of Flint, which despite their sexy appearances was making him a bit nervous. They were calmly unpacking like nothing was wrong though.

"So uh... didn't expect you girls to show up." Looked like everyone had gotten his newsletter when he posted that. Of course! Gardenia had said she'd read about him taking over the gym on the website. But after their last exchange he never thought she'd come back to visit.

"We just wanted to see how things were going for you is all, besides we like beach parties as much as anyone." Gardenia stated calmly as if there was nothing wrong. Candice meanwhile was applying sunblock on her body like there was no tomorrow. He guessed she probably didn't get exposed to sunlight very often with how far north she lived. "Don't you agree Candice?"

"Well we definitely wanted to know what was up with you." Her tone suggested to Flint that this visit wasn't entirely sociable and put him on the defense again. Looks like Gardenia had brought help to batter down his defenses and get info on Volkner. Well no sir he was not gonna cave or slip up this time!

"So I noticed Fantina isn't with you guys." Considering how often she posed in magazines as a model and judged beauty contests he was looking forward to seeing her on the beach but it looked like no one else was coming.

"She had some sort of business to attend to." Gardenia answered him, putting on sunglasses and setting herself up with a towel under the lawn chair. "Something to do with that Pokemon fashion rag Pocket Rocket or something. She's usually pretty busy these days with that sort of business. Feel kind of sorry for her." Flint was trying to focus on Gardenia's words but he was noticing her body a lot more clearly. She'd just started getting some tanning oil for her own skin too and he didn't want to come off like the total perv despite the two women oiling themselves up next to him.

"So, how does it feel running Volkner's Gym? Miss having him around?" Candice chimed in looking to see if she could pry some more info out of Flint but he was still playing it cool (but damn these girls were hot). Candice was having trouble getting the sunblock on her back and was trying to crane her arm around.

"Need a hand there?" Flint offered more looking to avoid the question than actually get a touch, Maylene was kind enough to distract from both, running over and offering to help.

"If you needed a hand you should have said so." Maylene smiled innocently enough and got Candice to flip over, then began rubbing the lotion onto her skin. Flint was gazing around the beach and he noticed that there were a lot of guys looking over this way with jealous faces. Some were even taking pictures of the scenes playing out around him. Flint made a note to look online tonight to see if he could find them. Not wanting to get too heated up seeing one girl rub down the other he turned his head the other way and noticed Gardenia giving a glance to his Speedo. Well at least now they were on a subject besides Volkner than he liked; himself.

"Interesting choice of swim suit." She said cautiously looking at the yellow lighting print on his black Speedo.

"Yeah, well I didn't have much choice." Flint confessed. "I ended up not remembering my own swim trunks when I came to the gym. Turns out the only thing Volkner had for me to borrow were these. So rather than spend my money on a new pair I figured he wouldn't mind if I took them for a night." At least he hoped he didn't mind. After all Flint had never seen him wear them. Was shocking to find out he owned them at all. "Why, like how they look?" Flint was feeling a bit cocky and ex-girlfriend of his friend or not she was extremely sexy today. Flint at least wanted to make an impression on her.

"I liked the way they looked a lot better when I bought them for Volkner." Oh. Oh damn. She bought these for him? Flint and Gardenia made eye contact and he felt like the whole beach had gone silent with the sheer awkwardness of the situation. Flint gulped down a lump in his throat and tried to look anywhere else but it felt like her eyes were piercing him. Maylene mercifully broke the silence.

"Who wants to play volleyball!?" She pulled one out of her duffel bag and when she did Infernape and Lucario came running back towards them intrigued by the toy. Gardenia looked up and rocked herself forward in her chair.

"I guess I'll play a game with you. Candice do you want to come to?" Flint noticed she looked right past him to her other female friend and felt a little bit of a cold shoulder. Speaking of cold the Ice-Type Pokemon trainer sat up on all fours (nice view) and then back on her knees.

"Okay I'll play too. But doesn't that make only three?"

"Why not have Flint play as well?" Maylene asked to the group and Flint really wasn't sure how to answer. There was a real uncomfortable silence and Flint was trying to think of an excuse to escape the situation.

"Well uh... I would but... I gotta supervise the party and... if someone wants to challenge for a badge you know..." It was pretty weak but he was trying to escape certain doom from these women.

"How about if I play?" Another male voice spoke up coming down the beach, this time instead of one of Flint's fan club members it was someone they all knew. "That's okay if Flint's busy right?" It was Roark from Oreburgh City, the Rock-Type Pokemon trainer. He was wearing some sweat pants and a tank top as he was approaching the group. Right now all Flint saw was a way out.

"Oh hey Roark! Okay yeah you can play if Flint's busy. Is that okay Flint?" Maylene asked as innocent as ever and he gave them his blessing. Helped him dodge a bullet with Gardenia and Candice and would give him time to come up with some excuses to not talk about Volkner for the rest of the night. As the girls were all getting up to get ready and Maylene looked happy she was going to get to play a game Infernape and Lucario were crowded around her, wanting to get their hands on that volley ball.

"All right, I was hoping I'd get a chance to make it down here before it got too late. Good thing I already dressed for the beach." Roarke began to take off his tank top and sweat pants and once again Flint saw a scene play out in front of him that he'd hoped he'd get to see but not under these conditions. As Roark dressed down it was revealed that he was also wearing a Speedo, this one blue. But that didn't seem to catch the girls eyes, instead it was his body which was built like a Goddamn Adonis. He was chiseled with muscle to the point he could compete with the guys in Flint's Flames. All the girls were taking a look, even Maylene seem transfixed at his appearance. Gardenia blushed and looked away.

"Maylene, it's not polite to stare at people." She commented to the young girl who kept looking anyway.

"Wow Roark, you must really work out!" Flint grumbled a little and looked at his own body. Sure he didn't have a six pack or toned muscles but he looked pretty good! Right? Right!?

While Maylene was admiring Roark's rock hard abs Lucario made his move and knocked the Volleyball out of her hands. Infernape grabbed it and the two were running off down the beach together. Maylene let out a shout of surprise and chased after the two of them trying to get it back. Gardenia sighed and grabbed Candice's wrist. "Candice, it's not polite for you to stare either, let's go get in line for Volleyball while Maylene is getting the ball back." Gardenia pulled the high school girl along with her leaving the two men in Speedos, one looking happy and the other looking annoyed (you figure out which is which) behind them. Roark waved them off.

"I'll catch up in a second, I gotta wait for my dad to get down to the beach." He looked over at Flint and was getting a glare from him. "What's wrong with you?"

"Really? Your really gonna ask me that? What are you wearing that for anyway!? I had no choice but to put these on!" Flint referred to his own beach wear which at least was more interesting looking but now highly uncomfortable knowing they came from Gardenia. Roark wasn't even mad though.

"Hey man, when you got it you flaunt it. Saw you on the news this morning and figured this was a Speedo party. Something wrong with the other girls checking me out?" Flint just shrugged to act like it didn't bother him but Roark kept the same confidently annoying smirk. "If your worried about me making a move on Gardenia it's okay. I don't want to get caught up in whatever weird thing you and her and Volkner got going on."

"There's no thing, why would there be a thing? Who would want a thing with both of them?" Flint protested a bit heated up in attitude.

"Well I don't know man, I heard that you... swing certain ways?" Roark was treading on familiar but infuriating grounds here.

"I'm not gay." Flint confirmed. "Just my fan club is." And further more. "Got a problem with that?"

"No problem no problem!" Roark put his hands up in surrender but was still smirking all confident. "Just getting the facts is all. Oh hey my dad's finally coming down." Byron, an older man that had managed to fight the looks of old age and deterioration that came with it, was walking down to the beach now. He was the Steel-Type Pokemon gym leader and it was almost comically apparent with his metal detector that he clearly planned to comb the beach with. He was thankfully wearing a Hawaiian shirt and swim trunks, unlike his son who had decided to match Flint's look. "Took you long enough dad, had to bring that thing along?"

"Never know what your going to find out here, I can have fun and do things my way too you know." Byron spoke with less of a calm nature and more of a loud, outgoing voice brimming with confidence as he gripped his metal detector fondly. He stopped and looked between Flint and Roark wearing their Speedos and then glanced over at Flint. "Your not turning my son gay are you?"

"No, for goodness sake I'm not gay I don't care how great my fan club is!" He glared at Byron. "Your not going to strip down to a Speedo too are you?"

"Please say no, dad." Roark said with concern. "The last thing I need to see is my father running around in spandex like he thinks he's a kid again."

"Course not, I got no idea what's wrong with you kids today that you think it looks good on you in the first place." Well there went the last of Flint's self esteem. "But after you see what's coming down from the parking lot you'll wish I had. Gwahahahahaha!" He turned on his metal detector and took off down the beach in search of buried treasure. Flint blinked and looked at Roark.

"What the heck was that about?"

"No idea but it looks like Maylene got the ball back from the Pokemon so I'm gonna go join them by the Volleyball court. Sure your just gonna stick by the arena all day?"

"Yeah." Flint confirmed feeling like he needed a moment to rest after all this anyway. "I really should stick around in case any challengers show up. Being elite four is way easier than a gym leader, not as much responsibility."

"Speaking of which where are the rest of them? Figured they would have come down for the party too. Especially Cynthia." Roark smiled with the mental image of the blond Pokemon Champion in a swim suit. Flint had thought of that image a few times himself but expectations would have to be disappointed.

"Guess none of them got the message or were all too busy. I heard Cynthia doesn't like to swim in public anyway, she gets kind of embarrassed easily, funny enough." Speaking of pretty girls in swim suits his original quartet was coming back over to the arena, looking dejected after talking with Flint's Flames. Looks like they found out the hard way where those guys interests lied. "Hey girls, back so soon?"

"Yeah." The red headed girl said looking a bit worried. "Um Flint... we had a question that uh... we wanted to ask you..."

"I'm not gay." He figured he'd nip that one in the bud right now.

"Is he?" They were all looking at Roark with that same glazed over lovey-dovey eyes they had given the group of men before. Flint growled a little in his throat and he just knew Roark was eating this up.

"Gee I dunno, why don't we ask? Hey Roark, are you gay? Roark?" He blinked when he didn't get a response and saw him looking back past the beach with a look of shock and horror, the girls had the same look in their eyes now too. Curious as to what it was that would freeze them all in place so badly Flint turned around to see for himself.

Admittedly Flint felt himself freeze in place with shock too, but there was no other way to react. Coming down the hill to the beach was a figure that was huge, imposing and worst of all wearing a Speedo. "Hey everyone!" The large figure shouted to them boastfully. "Who could enjoy a Speedo party on the beach without the biggest wave of fun himself; Crasher Wake!"


	7. The Disconnect

It had taken a bit of time and a lot of conversation but Volkner believed he finally had these women figured out. Misty's sisters were all quite beautiful, interesting and a bit overwhelming. Throughout lunch and after they had question after question for Volkner about his work, his city and entertainingly enough about Flint. Misty was there by his side to help field any tough ones they tried to throw his way, usually coming from Violet. Still he was holding up on his own through the family interrogation.

From what he'd seen Violet, the dark haired woman was the maternal one of the group. She along with Misty had prepared the food and served it and she was the most conservative with her questioning. Her inquiries mostly to do with how he and Misty had met and the things they had done together. Lily the pink haired woman was sharp despite her valley girl accent (it was amusing Misty hadn't picked that manner of speech from them) and she inquired on some very insightful subjects. She wanted to know things such as how good of a trainer he was, any past relationships he may have had and his future goals. Thankfully his accomplishments in Sunyshore seemed to impress her and in turn made Misty happy. Then there was the blond girl Daisy and was she unique. Daisy wasn't dim-witted as far as Volkner could tell. She just seemed to have very little regard or common sense as to what was an appropriate direct question or phrase. She'd bluntly asked right away when the first time he and Misty had had sex together which reddened up Misty's cheeks and left Volkner speechless. Violet was kind enough to correct Daisy on the politeness of her query, to which the blond girl cheerfully apologized.

Personally Volkner was kind of happy even with him being grilled in a four way conversation. Misty's sisters were interesting and he could see why she may have wanted to avoid them given their natures. But they really cared about their sister and were actively interested in her life. He'd never had such a family bond and the closest thing to a sibling was Flint.

"So like when do you have to return to Sinnoh?" Violet asked while she was tending to the dishes, everyone getting ready to leave the table to return to their own business.

"I'll have to head out tomorrow. I promised Flint I wouldn't keep him at the gym for more than a week. As one of the Elite Four he's supposed to remain on call in case of a challenger making it to the league." Volkner replied, feeling a squeeze on his hand from Misty at the suggestion of him having to go away again.

"That's way too bad. Like it would be fun if you could just hang out here all the time." Daisy suggested with a cheerful tone in her voice, Lily rolling her eyes a little.

"Daisy like, if he did that then who would run his gym or do all that engineering stuff for his city?" Daisy seemed to ponder this question seriously before coming up with an answer.

"Flint could do it!" Daisy chimed in and Volkner replied hesitantly.

"Um... actually like I said he'd have to return to his duties as one of the Elite Four." Daisy looked dejected that her suggestion was denied.

"Aww... well I guess you have to go then. I hope you'll remember us."

"Oh I don't think I'll forget any of you anytime soon. I hope to see more of Misty as much as I can after all." Misty was beaming with happiness at those words.

"Speaking of remembering us." Lily suddenly commented. "Like have you found our website online?" Volkner stopped and considered this question and who it was coming from. She could have meant that website but he decided to play it safe.

"The Cerulean Gym site? I gave it a look over before coming, it could use some updating but I thought it was fine." He left the answer at that but Lily wasn't satisfied.

"Oh I didn't mean that one. Like Misty didn't tell you about Cerulean Angels?" Just the name of it seemed to get an angry glance out of Misty and Violet tensed a little too. Lily didn't seem to mind and neither did Daisy... although she might not know what they were talking about. Volkner let out a little sigh and decided to just admit it.

"Flint showed it to me after I told him I knew Misty." Volkner admitted and Daisy suddenly perked up.

"So he totally knows who we are?" She asked almost hopefully and Volkner couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. She certainly focused on the more positive side of things.

"I hate that stupid website." Misty grumbled and crossed her arms. "Perverts taking pictures of us in our swimsuits with their stupid close up shots and... ugh!" Misty glanced over at Volkner with the same annoyed look. "How much of that site did you look at anyway?"

"Not much!" Volkner answered a little too quickly. "I was actually writing you an email at the time so I was a bit more focused on that."

"But you totally liked what you saw, right?" Lily asked and Volkner really wasn't happy to have to answer that question. "Like not all of those pictures are from those creepers with zoom lens cameras. Some of them are totally professional photos from our modeling jobs. Like even Misty had a few in there." Volkner looked surprised and glanced at Misty, who was still a bit annoyed over the whole conversation.

"I only did those pictures because you guys asked me to. The photographer wanted shots of all the Cerulean Sisters, so I did a few poses too." She looked away embarrassed, then at Volkner. "Did you... like my pictures at least?" She was blushing in a very nervous and cute way and it hit Volkner right in the heart.

"Of course I did. Any picture that has you in it has to be the best one." Misty giggled a little in happiness. Violet made an "Awww" noise and Lily just rolled her eyes, but she was smiling at how sweet it was. Daisy of course had to be unique.

"It's totally sweet that you think Misty is so pretty, like even when we look so much better than she does." Volkner was left speechless a second time by that statement and Misty gave Daisy a death glare. "I mean that's why the three of us are like, the Sensational Sisters and with Misty it's just the Cerulean Sisters, right?" Daisy looked at Violet and Lily for confirmation, seemingly oblivious to how rude the statement was. Volkner wasn't sure if he should be offended on Misty's behalf or not. Misty just shook her head.

"That's Daisy for you... I've learned to ignore it the longer it's gone on." Daisy blinked seeing they were talking about her but not understanding why. Violet patted Daisy on the back to try and clean up her mess.

"I think Volkner likes Misty for who she is instead of for like, how she looks. Besides she's totally a better trainer than all three of us combined and she's our little sister. Which means she has to be way prettier than any other girl outside of this family." She looked down at Daisy. "Is that what you meant to say?"

"I guess... Like I mean I thought I said it pretty good before without all that other stuff but that's good too." Daisy nodded and smiled and Lily just grinned and shook her head at her sister. Misty gave Volkner's arm another tug as she finally got him to rise out of his chair.

"Well we're going to check out the pool for a bit. We got some spare swim trunks for guys so you don't have to go all the way back to the hotel for yours, okay?" Volkner nodded to Misty and she continued to pull him towards the door, the sisters waving to them as they exited the kitchen.

Once in the pool's changing room Misty undressed from her street clothes and slid into her white swimsuit, the one she normally wore for when she took Pokemon Battle challenges. She looked herself over in the mirror in the women's shower room, checking out her curves in the suit. "I'm pretty... Daisy doesn't know what she's talking about." Yeah, Misty was pretty. Heck, she was down right sexy! She got a lot of repeat challengers too and she was willing to bet she knew why; they couldn't get enough of the red head in the swimsuit. Misty nodded to herself in assurance. She had a boyfriend, she was a hot babe that guys admired on the internet, and she was an awesome trainer to boot. Yeah, Misty was feeling confident.

When she walked out into the pool area Volkner was already there in his white swim trunks, they looked a little large on him but he had the string tied around the waist so it was working out fine. When Misty stepped out to see him he smiled at her approach. "Well, is this what everyone gets to see when they come for a badge? Surprised trainer's aren't beating the door down." Misty giggled at his little joke and gave him a playful hit at his arm.

"I can't help that I look good in white." Misty smirked and hugged Volkner, the two sharing a quick kiss. "This is what I wear for battles, although normally I wear a jacket over it so as not to give too much away." She winked at him. "Ready to hop in?"

"I guess so. Water looks nice." The two jumped into the pool together with a splash, coming out and wiping their hair away. Volkner always looked a little funny to Misty with wet hair, but it usually dried and started spiking upward again funny enough. She guessed it just grew that way. "It's not cold at all either."

"We have it heated so we can use it year round." Misty swam a little bit, enjoying the feeling of gliding through the water. It was always so relaxing, just being able to float and dive and suspend yourself from every surface. She could always come out here to clear her head or get some exercise. "So, think you can beat me in a race?"

"No." Volkner answered flatly. "But I'll still give it a try." Misty smiled at his enthusiasm, feeling more energetic just being near him. The two swam to the edge of the pool and kicked off, Volkner pushing himself out farther but Misty closed the gap on him in seconds. She smiled as she reached the other end of the pool in no time at all, Volkner still following behind her. He let out a breath and looked at her surprised. "Wow... I knew you were a good swimmer but that was impressive!"

"Thanks, I've been doing it since I was little so I have a lot of practice." She floated through the water and into his arms. "Now that I've won I think I deserve a prize." She smirked and leaned in to get a kiss.

"Is there room for more?" Her prize got distracted at the sound of two intruders, Misty grumbling that she didn't get her kiss. She was further annoyed to see who was coming in to join them.

"Hey, we had the pool first!" Misty complained kind of childishly to her big sisters. Violet and Lily were walking into the pool area from the girl's shower room. Violet was wearing a modest but still attractive deep purple one piece suit. Lily on the other hand was wearing a green two-piece, one that not only gave her cleavage some breathing room but had a thong in the back as well to show off her behind. She glared a bit having her older sisters parade around her boyfriend in those outfits. "Go get your own."

"Like this is our own too, just as much as yours." Lily retorted, diving into the pool at the deep end. Violet came around to the steps and entered daintily into the water, swimming out into it.

"You were describing it as being so nice it totally made us want to take a dip too." Misty hugged onto Volkner a bit tighter as Violet passed, Volkner watching and she was sure he wasn't watching too close but she was hugging extra tight just in case she was to remind him he had his own sexy girl right here. "It's not a problem right?"

"I guess I'm fine with it, right Misty?" Misty nodded her head to Volkner's question, a little disappointed. It was always this way with her sisters. She loved them but it felt like she was always in their shadow in some form or another. Even after all these years her sisters were still above her. Sure she was a better trainer than any of them would ever be, but there were other things. Lily would always be more clever than her and have a better butt that she enjoyed showing off. Daisy would always be more popular and had a better bust than Misty could hope for. Violet would always be just perfect; her hour glass figure, her cooking, her kind personality. She just couldn't compete it seemed.

It was then she felt two hands grab around her and carry her through the water, blue eyes looking her way with a smile. "Don't mind if I carry you for a bit?" Misty shook her head and leaned against Volkner... maybe her sisters were sexier and prettier and had other talents. But she had Volkner. She had love.

"Can I play too?" A cheerful voice called out and everyone looked over to see Daisy walk in, and with what she was wearing it was impossible to miss her. Volkner's jaw dropped and Misty's nearly did too if she wasn't slightly angry.

"Daisy, what are you wearing!" Daisy blinked and looked down at her bikini, which was in essence just two thin strips of spandex that slid down her breasts and curved around her hips to make a bottom covering. It didn't help she was literally bouncing with every step she took.

"I'm wearing a swimsuit, duh! Like what else would I swim in?" She smiled obliviously at her little sister, clearly not understanding why Misty would be bothered with her wearing that kind of outfit in front of Volkner. Violet once again tried to play damage control.

"Daisy, like there wasn't any other swimsuit you had to wear to the pool?" She asked gently but Daisy just looked down at herself, actually jiggling a little as she moved.

"What's wrong with this one? I haven't worn it in a while." She blinked looking at everyone in the pool.

"Isn't it a bit... too revealing?" Lily finally chimed in deciding to just come right out and say it, but Daisy responded with a smile and an answer.

"Like why would that be the problem? I wore it for a photo shoot for lots of people to see my pictures in it. So why would it be too revealing in my own house?" Daisy had a sort of logic that was hard to fight with. Technically true despite a few manners and social issues that she seemed to just be totally oblivious to. Misty rolled her eyes and just waved her in.

"Go ahead Daisy, jump on in." Daisy let out a little happy giggle and walked over to the pool, leaping in with a cannon ball type splash and childish joy. So Misty's private time with Volkner had been invaded by her sisters, she supposed it was good he was getting to know them and that they seemed comfortable around him too. If nothing else she was happy that he was becoming part of the family. Her bikini wearing, super model and slightly eccentric family.

"Yay! Swimming sure is relaxing, I totally feel more free already!" Daisy exclaimed surfacing from swimming under the water. When she came up to the surface she found everyone was staring at her. Everyone except Volkner that is, who had been staring at her but his eyes were suddenly covered up by Misty's hand.

"Daisy! You um... you slipped." Daisy blinked and looked at the edge of the pool, then back at Misty.

"No I didn't silly, I just jumped in and did a cannon ball. It was on purpose." She smiled innocently enough and Misty's face got red with annoyance.

"No! I mean you slipped... like... out of your bathing suit. Completely." Daisy blinked and looked down to see the straps had done very little in keep her breasts secure after leaping into the water. She gave out a harmless giggle and refitted herself back into the straps. Volkner for his part hadn't fought against Misty censoring Daisy's little wardrobe malfunction, he was smiling though. Misty gave him a bit of a glare, his eyes still covered. "What are you grinning about?"

"I'm just wondering if Flint is enjoying his vacation as much as I am."

**********

"This isn't going as well as I'd hoped." Flint said aloud to himself in an annoyed tone of voice. He was leaning on the front desk for the Sunyshore Plaza Hotel patiently awaiting to see if he could get some rooms together. The other gym leaders were close by awaiting for Flint to finish as he'd assured them as the current gym leader of Sunyshore that he could handle their sleeping arrangements for the night.

Candice was currently sitting on one of the complimentary couches in the lobby next to Maylene. She was still in her bikini along with the other girls as they were awaiting the rooms to be settled. Roarke had decided to put his sweat pants and shirt back on once they had left the beach much to Candice's disappointment. However Roarke's father was dressed in the same shorts and Hawaiian shirt he'd shown up in, and Crasher Wake had a similar outfit for himself, thank every god who convinced him not to walk around in a Speedo the whole night.

She had to admit that while secretly she'd hoped to bust Flint on the whereabouts of Volkner when they came to visit she'd actually enjoyed herself at the beach. The weather had been perfect, the food was good and free and the activities were a blast. Playing Volleyball, flag races and swimming in the ocean had been fun and to her personal satisfaction she'd managed to get about twelve or thirteen emails and phone numbers from a few of the boys she'd met while there. She didn't really plan to do much with them other than maybe make it a point to say hello to a few that seemed nice. Just having them given to her made her feel sexy and confident. She didn't have any desire to have a real relationship at the moment (long distance or otherwise). Really she was too focused on helping her friend's love life.

Gardenia was near the front desk with Flint while he tried to get the room arrangements finished, tending to their bags should someone finally come by and take them. Candice watched from her seat as Gardenia watched Flint, wondering what was going through the woman's mind. Gardenia always seemed so sure of herself and confident in what she did. She got a little silly around Grass-Type Pokemon sure but otherwise she was generally a capable woman. Candice looked up to that about her and was happy she was considered her friend. But these dealings with her old flame Volkner seemed to hit at Gardenia's confidence. It was like the once bright eyed, beautiful lady was changed into a somber woman. Candice didn't like it and right now she couldn't help but see Flint as part of the cause.

"Hey, you can handle this for us, right Roarke?" Byron turned to his son who up until a moment ago was checking out one of the attendants behind the front desk. Candice would have probably considered that pretty rude but her judgement was a thrown off when it came to guys with amazing abs. With Roarke's attention brought to his father he looked around to see if anyone caught him staring then smiled casually.

"Yeah I can get this pops, but where is it that you're headed?"

"Wake and I are going to hit up the bar for a few drinks. When you ladies are done here you can join us if you like." There was something... odd about Byron to Candice. He was like Roarke if you took out the charm and replaced it with grizzle. He was so loud too! Still there was something strangely likable and fun about him that Candice didn't understand. "You ready to do this Wake?" The two grown men gave each other a high five in a way that made Candice feel embarrassed to watch and even Maylene seemed to feel a bit awkward. Roarke just shrugged and sat on the couch directly across from Maylene and Candice who up until now had been waiting patiently.

"That's my dad for you." Roarke said calmly and settled into his seat. Candice watched his eyes to make sure they weren't looking lower than eye level... not that she didn't deserve that kind of a look... but it would be kind of rude... even if she was worthy of it. "So I guess you two ladies will be rooming together."

"Yep! I bet so!" Maylene responded quickly and enthusiastically. Candice smiled at her younger friend. She really liked Maylene and talking with her was always a lot of fun. She figured getting to essentially have a slumber party after having a beach party earlier in the day was like a dream come true. "As long as Candice doesn't mind sharing a bed with me, right?" She looked over at Candice with those big pink, innocent eyes and there was no way to say no.

"Naturally, I never mind having a sleep over with you." Candice confirmed making Maylene giggle in a happy response and it made Roarke give a more genuine smile.

"Still I wonder how we're going to divide this." Roarke thought out loud. "With my dad and Crasher Wake in one room and you two in another will that leave me and Gardenia sharing a room?" Candice looked up suddenly considering what that meant. If Roarke stayed in a room with a woman as beautiful as Gardenia then... well the results were something that concerned her. Especially when she was working so hard to figure out what was going on with Volkner and try to get those two back together. Well... that was the plan anyway. For Candice. Make him see what he lost with Gardenia.

"I guess if she's uncomfortable I could... maybe stay in the room with you?" Candice offered to help get Gardenia out of this situation. It wasn't like she was trying to get alone time with Roarke herself. She just knew that she was the most responsible and that if she were in the room nothing would happen. Anything that did would simply be something innocent or accidental like Candice getting another look at sculpted abs and nothing more to it. Totally safe.

"I could too I suppose." Maylene offered innocently enough but Candice was quick to correct her.

"Maylene it wouldn't be proper for such a young girl to stay alone in a room with a grown man." Maylene blinked at her puzzled.

"So then... how come you offered?" Candice blushed at the counter-question and Roarke chuckled under his breath.

"Well I'm more mature than you so it wouldn't be an issue." Candice retorted not wanting to look childish in front of Roarke or Maylene.

"But you're only a couple of years older than me." Maylene responded again with genuine confusion and Candice crossed her arms trying not to make eye contact with anyone.

"Those years make all of the difference. In a few years a woman can mature a great deal." Maylene pondered this for a while after Candice explained the facts of life before coming to a conclusion.

"I guess that means it should be Gardenia, since she's the most mature out of all of us." She smiled with the revelation and Candice just gave an exhausted sigh. Roarke was having trouble holding back his smile watching the two girls debate with one another. Before Candice could form another retort Flint approached and handed her a room key.

"You guys are up on the third floor, room number is on the card. Man did that take some work." Flint groaned a bit after having dueled against the front desk clerk to get them a place to sleep in such a crowded hotel. "Hope you guys appreciate this, I can't really afford to dip into the gym budget any more than I already have."

"Thank you Flint!" Maylene snatched up the card from Candice with a genuine smile and stood up, walking over to where Gardenia was being helped by one of the bus boys. He was loading luggage onto the cart and seemed to be getting a sort of tip for his efforts having the bikini clad woman standing near by. Flint then strolled over to Roarke next and handed him a card key as well.

"You're on the second floor." Roarke took the card and stood up, Candice rising shortly after since everyone else was standing. Roarke read off the back of the card for the room number.

"So who am I rooming with? Got me in the same one as Gardenia or am I sharing a room with you?" He looked at Flint who had an expression like he didn't really understand Roarke's question. "Or... am I sharing it with Candice? I mean I guess I could but..."

"What are you talking about?" Flint finally blurted out. "You, your dad and Wake are all in the same room. I asked for a roll away bed so you guys wouldn't have to share one together." The color washed out of Roarke's face the moment Flint explained the situation, looking at the card then at Flint again.

"Whoa wait a minute here. You get a room to yourself and you're making us all crash together? Don't tell me you're sharing a room with Gardenia!" The was an idea that never occurred to Candice and it got a rise out of her instantly. She was about to go on a tirade against Flint but he corrected Roarke casually.

"What is wrong with you? I got a room for the girls and a room for you guys. Why would I stay here, I'm watching the gym for Volkner, remember?" Candice kind of forgot about that and apparently Roarke had as well now looking like a rat trapped in a corner. "I couldn't get more than two rooms anyway. You were all lucky I was able to find that much free." Roarke put a hand on Flint's shoulder to catch his full attention.

"Let me stay at the gym with you." He said almost pleadingly and Flint was looking increasingly uncomfortable with Roarke being this close to him.

"Uh... no thanks. There's only one bed and I already have enough issues with those kind of rumors going around about me." Oh yeah, the Flint's Flames thing. Candice had been wanting to ask about that but apparently Flint denounced it for her before she could get confirmation.

"I'll sleep on the gym floor. Just give me a blanket, a towel, anything!" Roarke was pleading now and even Candice found it embarrassing to watch. "You've never been a room with those two before..." He said the words hauntingly, the kind of thing a solider would describe after being on a battle field. "They'll come in at about four in the morning after being down at that bar all night. When they do they'll either babel on like drunks for the next hour or pass right out. Then it'll begin. Have you ever heard Crasher Wake when he was asleep? Have you ever heard the snoring?" Roarke's eyes were intense. "A Snorlax would get up to stop that noise." Flint and Candice watched him relay his sufferings with much amazement, never aware of the tortures two old men could bring upon someone for just being around them. Flint smiled with understanding, and calmly reached into his pocket. He looked at Roarke with a serene face.

"Well... after hearing all of that... I guess it's good I got this as a just in case." Flint took Roarke's hand off of his shoulder, and placed the contents of his pockets into it. Roarke smiled having gotten through to Flint, having shared the horror's he'd seen and heard and reaching the man's heart. He looked down to what Candice thought much have been another room key, and then his face turned white again. Curious Candice looked over Flint's shoulder to see what was in his hand: earplugs. "I was going to use them for swimming earlier, but after hearing all of that I think you'll have a better use for them." Roarke just stared down at his supposed salvation like a man denied the medicine to save his life.

"Candice, we're ready!" Maylene called over to her friend as their luggage had been put onto the cart and was ready to go to their room. She walked over to her friends getting ready to head up when Gardenia stopped them.

"You two go ahead, I'll be right with you." She spoke and walked right to Flint. Candice couldn't hear what she said to him but after speaking the two went off away from Roarke's pale form to talk privately outside. Candice wanted to stick around but Maylene was already trying to steal the cart away from the bus boy and push it down the hall to the elevator.

"Candice, hurry up!" The pink haired girl called back to her friend and she sighed, following along like she was told.

Once they got into the room and sent the very happy bus boy on his way Candice called the shower first and Maylene gave it up, interested to see what was on T.V. Heading into the bathroom she removed her bikini and was quick to get inside the hot water of the shower. Feeling its soothing effects wash over she pulled out the ties in her hair and began to really enjoy winding down from the stress and fun of the day. Well so she didn't get to have a room with Roarke and get another peek at the Rock-Type Adonis. At least she got to spend the night with her best friends, and maybe once Gardenia got back up she'd share what her and Flint discussed so she'd be in the loop. Over all today was a pretty good day. After a quick hair and body rinse and a use of the hotel's body wash she'd rid herself of the scent of the ocean and was now freshly cleaned.

Wrapping a towel around herself Candice exited the steamy bathroom and into the hotel room. Maylene had laid her towel out over the bed and was currently laying on her stomach, watching some anime about pirates or something. Candice herself didn't really enjoy that kind of stuff but she didn't mind that her friend did, so she didn't pay much mind to the television. Pulling out her duffel bag she got ready to put her pajamas on when she stumbled onto the various slips of paper that contained the phone numbers and emails of the boys that had admired her. She smiled to herself feeling proud that she'd managed to get that much attention. As she put them on the bed to get to her clothes Maylene noticed and spoke up. "What are those things?"

"Oh, some of the boys at the beach gave me their contact information." She smiled expecting her pink haired friend to be impressed.

"You too?" Candice glanced over at Maylene, surprised at first but then thought better of it. Maylene was a cute girl, and on top of that her body was in excellent shape with all the martial arts she did. Sure she wasn't as old as herself or Gardenia, or as "curvy", but she was still pretty enough to warrant admirers. "I made a bunch of friend's at the beach too."

"Yeah, how many did you get?" Candice grinned curious as to how many boys Maylene had earned the admiration of.

"Lets see..." unexpectedly Maylene sat up and pulled the front of her swimsuit open, reaching in with one hand and pulling out a wad of papers. She held it wide enough that Candice could almost see everything underneath the front of the suit and just kept picking out slips of paper until she was finally satisfied and unfolded them one by one, laying them all out. "Uh I got about... twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two!" Candice looked on awestruck, she was about to comment until Maylene stood up off the bed and pulled her suit open further and reached inside. She pulled out a few more papers and laid them out. "Twenty-six!"

"You got... twenty-six boys to come up to you?" She stood there with her jaw nearly hitting the floor. Maylene had pulled in nearly twice as much attention as Candice.

"Well a couple of them were girls who wanted to talk later and they seemed nice, but a lot of them were boys for some reason. Maybe they wanted to join the dojo?" Maylene thought with an innocent look in her eyes.

"Maylene, why did you have them all in your swimsuit?" Maylene's current train of thought was broken as she wondered about that question.

"Well I didn't have any pockets or a purse or anything to put them in, and I didn't want to leave the beach every time someone gave me something as small as a note. So I just put them in my swimsuit and hoped the ink wouldn't run on the paper." She smiled simply at the explanation.

"So you put the note down your swimsuit every time you got one?" She nodded to Candice and the girl sighed. No wonder so many boys were running up to her, they all probably hoped to get a peek. Freaking perverts... still to think she got so many her way. Candice grumbled looking down at herself. Wasn't she as hot as she thought she was? Did she put on weight? She usually wore so many layers in her home town due to the snow that it wasn't something she thought of much. She put her hands on her sides and her hips wondering if they had gotten larger.

"Something wrong?" Maylene watched curiously and Candice blushed not wanting to really admit that she was worried she was less sexy than her younger friend.

"I just... was worried that maybe I'd put on some weight." She admitted half her worries to her friend and Maylene acknowledged them.

"You don't look any different to me. Lets see."

"H-hey!" Candice let out a shout of surprised when Maylene walked over and opened up her towel to look at Candice's body. She observed it like someone judging a contest. Candice was too surprised to close the towel on her.

"Well you look the same to me." That was a small relief at least. "You look like you could work out more though, but you've always looked like that." So she wasn't fatter, she was just... as fat as before?

"Hey... what's that supposed to mean?" She was about to interrogate further on the question when the hotel door opened and Gardenia walked in while Maylene still had the towel pulled open. The two girls blushed at the sudden intrusion and Candice quickly closed up her towel. "Gardenia! Hey um... this isn't what it looks like!" She protested suddenly but Gardenia didn't seem too worked up over it.

"What was it supposed to look like?" She asked and both girls just shrugged a little embarrassed. "Whatever, hey is it okay if I jump in the shower next? I could really use a chance to wash up."

"It's okay by me!" Maylene said and jumped back onto the bed, watching her anime once more. Candice waved her hand in dismissal.

"I'm okay too, just had mine as you can see."

"Okay, I wont be long." Gardenia walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, Candice letting out a little sigh over the embarrassing position she'd been caught in. Now that Maylene was watching TV and after getting a full view of her friend Candice decided there wasn't any reason to be shy and just dropped her towel as she changed into her pajamas. Once she was in the white soft fabric she laid on the opposite bed of Maylene and rested her body, but her mind was still working. She was curious as to what Gardenia and Flint had talked about that they had to go off and do it alone. She was sure it was about Volkner but she didn't know how to politely ask to find out. Maylene noticed her friend staring off at the ceiling and got curious.

"What you thinking about?" She asked now all prone on her hands and knees on the bed. Candice looked over at her without moving her body.

"Just thinking about today... wondering what Flint and Gardenia said to each other." Maylene looked on curiously like she didn't understand the significance so Candice clarified. "I'm betting it had to do with Volkner and why he really left for Kanto."

"Oh. And you're worried about that?" Maylene still didn't seem to understand the concern but Candice was ready to explain.

"Sure I am. Gardenia's our friend. If Flint is making up whatever stories to cover for Volkner while he's off with that other girl then I'd like to know about it." Maylene looked on a bit worried now.

"But Gardenia said we shouldn't ask about that anymore. She said we shouldn't bug him about it." Candice sighed and sat up.

"Of course she said that, because she's nice. But I can tell it's hurting her to not know, and probably that he's out there with someone else while she's here alone." Maylene looked sad as she thought about this.

"But... didn't she say she could take care of herself? I thought they weren't together anymore?" Candice figured it would come to this eventually so she had to spell out her intentions to Maylene.

"Ever since Gardenia and Volkner broke up she's been different. Even he acts gloomier than he normally does. And this thing with him leaving for Kanto for another girl has made her even more depressed. I can see it in her eyes when we talk about it. She still loves him... and I'm willing to bet he still loves her too. But he's off chasing some other red headed girl to have some fun and using her to replace Gardenia. Why else get involved with someone that lives so far away unless he wanted to avoid a commitment? It isn't right." Maylene thought seriously on the subject. Candice knew Maylene wasn't really one that considered these kinds of complicated subjects often. She normally spoke honestly from the heart. It could be a bit difficult to get points across at times with her like that but it was one of the things that made Maylene so precious and adorable. After some pondering she finally responded.

"So Flint said something that was a lie so that Volkner could keep lying too?" She sounded unsure of the question and Candice had to admit her lack of evidence.

"Well... I don't know what he said exactly. That's what I want to find out."

"Oh then I'm sure it's okay." Maylene suddenly responded confidently and laid on the bed again to watch her show. Candice was left speechless by the sudden assurance Maylene had in her decision.

"Wha... why are you sure it's okay?" Maylene didn't even look up as she spoke happily.

"Because you're worried about Gardenia because she's your friend. But Flint is her friend too. And so is Volkner. Friend's care about each other, so I know it'll be okay." She smiled. "Flint is a good guy, and even if Volkner doesn't smile much he's a good guy too. I know they wont do anything to hurt each other." Candice was surprised at the levels of confidence and good faith Maylene had in their fellow Pokemon trainers. She sat stunned for a bit watching the TV along with the pink haired girl.

Maybe she was right. She'd never known Flint or Volkner to be vicious or mean spirited, let alone any of her fellow gym members. Still she'd really like to know what it was that Gardenia had talked about with him.

**********

"So this is it, huh?" Misty looked up at Volkner with eyes that were sad enough to shatter the coldest heart. He almost wanted to stay and not head back to the hotel with eyes like those but they both knew he had to leave. Tomorrow he'd be heading back for Sinnoh and he'd need his sleep for getting up early to get to his flight. Volkner let out a sigh nodding a little.

"Only for now. It's not like we'll never see each other again. As soon as I'm able I'll come back to visit." Despite the reassurance Misty still looked disappointed. They both knew traveling between the regions wasn't cheap or close, so it may take him a while to get the funds together again for another trip. "Also if you ever want to come to Sinnoh you know there's a place for you in Sunyshore."

"Yeah, I guess so." Misty agreed but with a disappointed tone. Volkner put his arms out for a hug and Misty walked into it for the comforting embrace. Volkner kissed the top of her head and Misty squeezed her arms around his torso lovingly.

"Be sure to wait for me. I'll definitely see you again." Misty nodded against his shirt and hugged him tighter. He didn't want to leave that embrace but he had to, for now. In time he'd have it again. Misty's green eyes looked up at his and they kissed in the setting sunlight.

"I love you Volkner." Misty said and gripped the back of his coat with her fingers.

"I love you too Misty. Um... it isn't much but I wanted to give you a little something." Misty watched as Volkner opened up his jacket and pulled out a Lighthouse Badge from the inside pocket. "It's one of my gym badges. Original, not one of Flint's special kind." She smiled a little at that, looking at it before attaching it to her shirt. "I thought you might enjoy having one as a memento of our vacation together."

"I love it." Misty smiled at her badge then back up at Volkner. "You better get going then, if you miss your flight tomorrow don't expect me to give you a place to crash." She teased and Volkner smiled at it.

"Yes ma'am." They shared one more kiss together, gripping each others hands as they did so and holding it for as long as they could. When they finally broke they hugged each other yet again, and Volkner headed down the path back towards his hotel. Misty watched him until he was out of sight before heading back into the house, leaving Volkner alone to travel back with the street lights coming on.

When he arrived at the hotel he let out a sigh and collapsed onto the bed. So much had happened over this vacation it was hard to believe he'd been part of all of it. The surprise visit to Misty's home, the interesting days he spent with her sisters, Sabrina and the gang of thugs he and Misty had taken down together. Not to mention the gift of checking out the Silph company and their nights they'd spent together. Really it had been much more thrilling that he'd anticipated and above all he was happy he'd come here. "I need to do this again as soon as I can."

He turned his head to look outside and see that the sun was all but gone and darkness was setting in across the city. He figured Flint had to be back at the gym by now and he was actually looking forward to checking in with him. After what he'd seen on television he had a range of questions to ask.

He picked up the hotel phone and dialed out, letting it ring a few times as he figured Flint was once again trying to figure out where the phones were in the gym. Once it did pick up he heard the normal response. "Sunyshore gym, Flint speaking."

"The famous Flint reduced to answering phones?" Volkner teased a bit. "I thought you were a big celebrity now?"

"Hey Volkner, and what?" Flint sounded confused so Volkner clarified for him.

"Well after you little beach party I figured one of your beach bunnies would have answered for you." There was a long pause and Volkner was scared he had hung up. "Hello? Flint?"

"You saw that?" There was caution in Flint's voice and Volkner was kind of surprised, he figured Flint would have been bragging up and down about his stardom with the citizens of Sunyshore. "Wait you're in Kanto, how the heck did you see that?"

"Misty's family has satellite television." Flint made an "Aaah" of realization. "I happened to catch the news just as you were informing the world that it's always sunny in Sunyshore. I do have a question though Flint; why did you wear those?" Another long pause, it was becoming clear to Volkner that Flint wasn't expecting to have this conversation so soon after his beach party.

"They were all I could find." He said it so restrained that Volkner actually laughed.

"Wow... the Speedo? I mean I'm not mad it's just I never thought you'd wear that. I haven't worn it except one time."

"You don't have to tell me about it." Flint groaned over having been found out so easily as to what he'd done.

"I don't plan to, probably not going to wear it again either. I'd give it to you but I'd feel bad giving them away since they were a gift from..."

"Gardenia, yeah. She told me." It was Volkner's turn to stop short in conversation. She had told him? "She was there on the beach today. Matter of fact me and her had a little conversation. I kinda... told her about where you went. Sorry man, I didn't want to rat you out but she sort of figured it out on her own and I just felt bad lying to her you know?"

"No no it's... it's okay. It was going to come out eventually anyway. Not like I'm ashamed of it." Volkner let out a sigh, he figured there was going to be questions to answer when he got back. He was just hoping to avoid having to talk about it for a while longer.

"She isn't going to spread it around or anything, she just wanted to be kept in the loop about what was going on with you. Guess she was worried when I didn't want to talk about it." Volkner figured that made sense. He usually didn't keep important things from others but this didn't seem like something to keep Gardenia informed about anyway. Regardless about their past. "Oh yeah, she was wearing a bikini too. Hooooot!"

"Well that's... a weird kind of uncomfortable at having to hear." Your best friend checking out your ex-girlfriend was just kind of strange to listen to, even if Volkner was well aware that Gardenia was a sight to see in a swim suit.

"Well it's not like it was just her. Like you said, I had my beach bunnies with me! Well I did till Roarke showed up." Flint sounded a bit annoyed and that sparked curiosity in Volkner.

"Wait a second, he was there too?"

"Almost everyone was. Roarke, his dad and Crasher Wake. You think me in a Speedo is uncomfortable then you haven't seen Crasher Wake coming at you in one!" They didn't know it, but the two men shivered in horror at the same time at the suggestion. For Flint it was a bit worse as he'd witnessed it. "Also Candice and Maylene, also in swimsuits. Not a bad sight either I gotta say." Flint was still beaming at his accomplishments during the party and Volkner was finally ready to counter attack.

"Doesn't sound too bad, got to go to the beach with Misty while I was here in Cerulean too. Course that wasn't near as much of a sight as swimming in her pool with her. And her sisters." Flint stopped bragging and was getting ready to counter attack.

"Yeah... that doesn't sound too bad. Although I bet your girlfriend didn't let you check them out much huh?" Flint chuckled a little but Volkner just smiled.

"She didn't really seem to mind at first, that is until her sister Daisy had a wardrobe malfunction with her top. I got a hand over my eyes just a second after getting a view of that."

"Hold on... which one was Daisy?"

"The blond one... what am I holding on for?" Volkner asked but he figured out the answer when he heard typing on a keyboard over the phone. There was a bit of silence before Flint came back on.

"Damn, that's the one with the big... the biggest sights to see. Well... yeah guess that must have been pretty cool. Still now that you're tied down not much you can do but hope she doesn't get angry when you get a peek at some girl right?"

"Well I also got to see Misty make out with Sabrina of the Saffron City gym." Predictable silence on Flint's end. "We had a pretty good night at the hotel afterwards. Just me and Misty I mean, not Sabrina too."

"Just a second..." More typing as he figured Flint must have been looking up Sabrina's picture online. After a few moments longer Flint finally came back on the phone. "I hate you." Volkner laughed out loud having won the bragging contest. "Seriously, I hate you. I get Wake in a speedo and you get to see this babe making out with your girlfriend? Where's the justice in that? I demand you hook me up with one of Misty's sisters!"

"Actually that might not be impossible. Although when you meet them you're on your own. Those are some assertive women if I ever met one."

"Hey, once you catch fire with Flint there's no stopping that burning attraction." Volkner rolled his eyes and was about to counter with a joke about Flint's fan club when he heard a knock at the door.

"That's weird... hey, I got a visitor. I'm gonna have to go." The friends said their goodbyes as Volkner hung up. Walking over to the door Volkner wasn't sure who it could be. Maybe the hotel sent up towels to the wrong room or something. He really shouldn't have been too surprised though when he opened the door for standing in the hallway was one red-headed young lady. She was in a white windbreaker jacket that was zipped up, coming down around her hips nearly like a skirt. She smiled up at him with her green eyes as giggled.

"Hey there, need some room service?" She shifted on her feet while watching him, Volkner looking up and down the hallway to see if anyone else was there.

"Well if I'd known the hotel was providing this kind of service I'd have called for it sooner." She laughed a little and hugged him suddenly, Volkner taking the embrace eagerly. "What are you doing here Misty?" She held onto him for a while longer in the hug before breaking it and giggling to herself again. She was in a really good mood, totally different from when he'd left her in front of the Cerulean Gym.

"Well I was thinking, seeing as how this is your last night in Cerulean City, maybe you'd like to go have a private swim at the Cerulean Gym pool?" She was grinning wide and Volkner saw she was trying to lure him back out with her again. Not that it wasn't tempting.

"Well as I recall a concerned young lady wanted me to be sure I was going to get enough sleep to make my flight tomorrow. Are you sure I should go out?" He was smiling too as he teased her, and Misty made a pouting face.

"There's no harm in going out for a little bit is there? Tell you what, I can act as your private guide to the pool. Does that sound nice?" She unzipped her jacket to reveal what she had on underneath, and it was quite a different swimsuit than the white one piece she'd worn earlier. Now Misty was in a blue two piece that looked like it was just a bit too small for her. The top was tight around her chest, and her breasts were bulging out from underneath the fabric as they threatened to fall out of the tight restraint. Her hips had a matching bottom that hugged around her just as snugly and was almost like a second skin on her. Volkner blushed seeing the outfit, there wasn't any saying no to this.

"I'll get my trunks."

"Don't bother." Misty smirked and grabbed his wrist, pulling him out of the room with her. Surprisingly there were very few people out and Misty's jacket covered her well enough that not everyone got the same show that Volkner did when he'd seen her in his hotel room doorway. A short run down the now familiar path back to the Cerulean Gym and Misty was hurriedly taking him around to the back. She pulled a key out of her jacket pocket and used it to open an outside door, leading directly into the pool area. "This way we don't have to go through the house and wake anyone up." Misty smiled and let Volkner inside. Once they were in the dimly lit pool area the couple kissed immediately. They wrapped their arms around one another and deepened their kiss, moaning from the pressure of feeling their bodies pushed against each other once more. After a moment they broke the kiss gasping for breath.

"So... I thought you wanted me to get to bed to wake up early?" Misty looked away shyly, which was cute after her confident sexy display back at the hotel.

"I just thought... since we had one more night together why not... spend it together?" She looked back at him blushing lightly. "That's okay isn't it?" Volkner kissed her in response and took off his jacket, setting it aside.

"It's perfect." They couple smiled at each other and Misty took off her jacket as well. She walked towards the pool as Volkner was undressing and he saw how tight her bottoms were against her ass, making him get an instant reaction at the sight of her. He knew hiding his eagerness would be pointless so he stripped down regardless of Misty being able to see his erection. She was already into the water by the time he'd gotten all his clothes off and was beckoning him in further with her hand. He didn't waste any time following.

"Sorry if my sisters ruined our swimming earlier. They're just so nosy when I'm up to something and then never around when there's work to do." She sighed and shook her head, swimming up to him when he was in the water. "And sorry about Daisy... well being Daisy."

"Oh it wasn't a problem." Misty gave him a glance and he laughed a little. "That part with Daisy was kind of surprising but I understand. They just want to keep an eye on their little sister, so I'm not taking it personally."

"They should learn I'm not as little as I used to be." Misty wrapped her arms around his neck and felt him poke against her when she got close, giggling a little. "I take it you like my bathing suit?"

"It's something all right! But it looks like it's kind of small on you." Her breasts had actually slipped down a bit farther since she'd started swimming with it on, Volkner deciding he didn't want to wait pushed it up making them fall out with a surprised gasp from Misty.

"Oh! Pervert." She scolded him but was smiling and didn't hide her breasts from him. "Yeah it's an old one. I wore it years ago when I used to do the gym challenges. But I thought I'd bring it out one more time for tonight." She kissed Volkner and they resumed their deep kiss from before they got into the water. Volkner's hand found it's way onto her right breast and his thumb played at her erect nipple. Misty let out a happy moan feeling his hand, her own sliding down to grip onto his cock. She smiled a little when she heard him grunt in surprise from the grip of her hand. Breaking the kiss she kissed his nose quickly. "Maybe you'd like to help me slip out of it?"

Swimming away from him Misty got onto the steps of the pool and leaned onto the metal safety railing. She bent forward and arched her back, showing off her ass to Volkner in a way that was too alluring for him to even think of resisting. Swimming up behind her he leaned over her as she leaned on the railing, kissing the back of her neck and massaging her breasts. They were both eager to be even closer to each other but Volkner was taking his time to savor her. She'd dressed up just for him after all. Sliding his hands down onto her hips he pulled at her bottoms and found it took a couple of hard tugs to get them past her hips. They were really tight. "Sorry." Misty said a little embarrassed at how hard they were to get off.

"Not a problem." He assured her in a light tone, pulling them down finally to her thighs. Once they were there he saw how they held her legs together and Volkner simply left the blue stretchy fabric around her legs. "Volkner, what are you AAH!" Slipping his cock between her thighs it rubbed against her legs and pussy, feeling her moisture from the pool and her lust. Misty began to moan and it only grew louder as he positioned himself to slip inside of her. "OH! It's so tight!"

It was indeed, despite Misty's body already hungry to feel Volkner inside her she was a very tight fit with her blue swim suit bottoms holding her legs together. Despite that Misty didn't argue, in fact she was moaning as if she was enjoying it even more. She had both hands wrapped around the railing as she leaned on it, moaning loudly from their love making. Volkner was a little worried that her echoed moans would get her sister's attention but he trusted in Misty that she'd already planned to avoid that with luring him here in the first place.

Moving his hands around to squeeze at Misty's breasts that were being pushed out from underneath her top he began thrusting into her anew. Her sexy display from the hotel had him worked up since he'd seen her and this was an incredible outlet for all that desire. Misty was moaning deep like the night at the hotel and it just served to make Volkner want to work harder. "Don't stop! Don't stop oh please don't stop!" He could feel her nipples in hand and his fingers played with them, Misty's hips giving hard bucks back to his own. "Volkner! I'm going to cum! I'm going to cum already!" She panted harder as Volkner began to work his hips faster, the water around their legs splashing and moving in waves with their thrusts. Before long Misty let out a loud moan and her muscles clenched around Volkner, letting out high pitched squeals of delight as she came around his cock happily.

"I'm going to..." Volkner Winced as it had been hard enough to hold back when he was inside of her, but now after feeling her climax he was on the verge and was about to break.

"Don't!" Misty reached behind herself despite shaking from the orgasm and pulled her bottoms down to her ankles. Volkner slipped out of her and they both let out a moan from separating so fast. Pulling her feet out Misty turned around to sit on the steps and wrapped her fingers around his cock, stroking it in her hand. "Okay... okay now you can." Volkner blushed looking down at the pretty girl stroking him so eagerly. She smiled up at him while catching his breath and it was enough to break him, moaning as he came onto her face and chest. Misty just continued to stroke eagerly, letting it shoot off onto her swimsuit and face. She stroked slower as he released less, leaning up and rubbing his cock against her breasts before standing up to look at him. She blushed a bit feeling his sticky cum on her chest and face. "I um... I should get a towel."

Volkner leaned in and gave her a little peck of a kiss on the lips, managing to miss the mess he'd put on her face. "I'll get it for you." Getting out of the pool in a hurry he carefully walked to where he'd seen the towels earlier when they went swimming and came back with one. Misty cleaned her face off and smiled at him, practically glowing. Volkner wondered how he could ever force himself to leave this girl.

**********

"Well that's one fantasy satisfied." Misty informed Volkner as he got dressed after their swimming and cuddle session following their great sex. Volkner looked up at her surprised tying his shoe.

"That was a fantasy of yours?" He said looking at the pool and Misty was happy to elaborate.

"Well I spend a lot of time out by the water and the pools you know. So every so often when I'd daydream about... that, I'd think about it in the pool." She confessed to him. It was true she'd fantasized about this kind of thing in a number of places just to keep herself entertained with her thoughts at times. In her pool, on the beach, in a fancy hotel, at a fancy restaurant in the back where no one could notice her doing something so naughty! Well after all you had to keep yourself entertained somehow on the slow days when challengers didn't come.

"Was it as good as you'd thought it would be?" Volkner smiled seeming a bit prideful that he could have given her satisfaction in such a thing.

"Better!" She confessed with a giggle. "I only put this suit on because I thought it would look sexy when I came to meet you. I didn't think I'd leave it on... well during." She held up her old two piece that she hadn't worn in ages. She first wore it when she was around twelve and it had lasted her a lot longer than she'd had expected. These years later it was as one would imagined too small but she still squeezed her butt into it somehow. "I'm glad we did though. It was somehow more exciting." She blushed at the confession. "Are you glad you came back out with me?" Volkner slid up next to her on the bench they were sitting on and hugged her with one arm.

"I was only regretful when I left. I could only be happy when I'm with you." Misty "Awwed" out loud and hugged onto him with both arms tightly. She was totally naked at the moment but it was still warm enough in the pool area that she didn't mind. She'd put her jacket on when she went to her room so that if Violet was still watching T.V. downstairs she wouldn't notice. Thankfully the pool was practically sound proof so she knew that she didn't have to hold herself back when she'd get to live out her fantasy.

"But I guess you better get going now. I really don't want you to miss your flight and be in trouble. Flint would freak if he had to take care of the place another day huh?" Volkner chuckled a little thinking about it.

"Maybe, although from what we saw it seems he's pretty popular there now. He also said he wants me to introduce him to your sisters now that I've met them." Misty rolled her eyes.

"Wouldn't you be jealous if he got the sensational sisters all to himself." Volkner leaned in and kissed her lips.

"Why should I? I'm with the most sensational Cerulean Sister there is." She let out a squeal of delight and hugged his neck tightly.

"Volkner, I love you."

"I love you too Misty." They hugged for awhile knowing the pain of having to part again. Misty hated it and would rather have gone with him to spend the night but she would have been a distraction and she knew it. He needed his rest. "When I come back I'll try to fulfill another fantasy, okay?" Misty blushed and nodded against his shoulder.

"Mm-hm." The couple stood up and Misty walked over to the door with him but didn't stand too close as she was still naked. They shared one more kiss before Volkner went out the door and exited her day to day life until the next time they met. She sighed sadly now alone in the pool. "I guess that's it then." She sighed and put her jacket on, zipping it up and stuffing her bikini into the pockets of her jacket. It bulged out at the sides but that was fine since no one would notice. She solemnly walked towards the doors exiting the pool to the house, depressed that she'd be spending the night alone.

So it was quite a surprise as she was soaking in her depression over her boyfriend leaving that she heard a female voice shout in surprise and pain when she opened the door. Misty blinked looking inside the hallway leading to the house that Daisy was there rubbing her head. She was in her pajamas and looked like Misty had just walked her with the door. "What the... Daisy! What are you doing here?" Daisy just groaned as she rubbed her head where the door hit her.

"Like I told you we'd get caught." Misty looked around panicked as Lily spoke up, standing in a long shirt and her underwear in the hallway as well. Further inspection showed Violet standing in her night gown and Misty came to the realization that all of her sisters were right by the door to the pool. Where her and Volkner had just been.

"What the... why are all of you up! Why are you all here!" Violet was avoiding making eye contact and even Lily looked too shy to speak up. Daisy however still lacked that basic human feature of shame or tact.

"Well we totally heard you so we got curious." The color left Misty's face as Daisy's words sunk in. They... they heard her. Her and Volkner while they were in the pool. Together... during the parts where she was her loudest in the pool.

"You guys were peeking on me!" Misty shouted angrily at the three of them and everyone, even Daisy at this point, looked a bit embarrassed.

"Well like not peeking, Lily said you'd totally notice us if we did." Daisy confessed and Lily for all her clever wit didn't seem to have any reply or defense to that. "So like all we could do is listen is all." Daisy further ratted her and her sisters out. Violet was blushing furiously and not making eye contact either.

"I... I tried to stop them." Violet said in a quiet voice but didn't make eye contact with Misty. Misty's face was getting red with rage as she looked at her three guilty siblings who had actually had the nerve to spy on her while she was having sex! Their own sister!

"I can't believe you three! Just... oooh! You didn't think that maybe it was rude to listen in on us!" Misty practically growled the words out at them and Daisy stared blankly.

"But like Lily said, we totally can hear you when you do it alone in your room. So it's not much different." Aside from that embarrassing detail being let out Misty glared over at Lily who was doing everything she could not to make eye contact with Misty. Violet tried to make everything better like normal as she put a hand on Misty's shoulder and forced a comforting smile through her embarrassment.

"Well I'm glad you got to spend some more time with him tonight. I know you really like him." Misty looked at Violet and sighed, she just couldn't stay angry at her. She smiled a little and nodded to her sister. "Okay then... like maybe we should all go to bed."

"I agree there." Lily stated and began walking back to the stairs first, Misty following behind and happy that her jacket was just long enough to hide her naked butt as she walked. She'd been embarrassed enough for one night. "Looking forward to just getting to sleep."

"Not as much as me." Misty groaned a bit irritated, leaving Lily and Violet to try and avoid looking at her for fear of instigating her anger again. Daisy didn't have the same concerns.

"Well like I wish I had a boyfriend to spend the night with now. I'm just going to have to go to my room alone to take care of myself after listening to that." All the sisters stared at Daisy in disbelief and she was looking back confused as to what they didn't seem to understand. So she helped them. "I mean I'm going to do what Misty does, but I wont be as loud about it."

"Okay fine! I'm going to bed!" Misty shouted, having to hear her sister announce her intentions to masturbate and then compare them to her own way of doing it was far too much for Misty to handle for a night. She stormed off to her bedroom as Lily followed her upstairs.

"Jeez Daisy, doing it's one thing but do you have to tell us?" Lily complained as well clearly no happier with the knowledge than Misty was. Daisy followed right behind on the stairs as oblivious as ever.

"But you were the one to totally point out when Misty did it." Daisy countered as she walked up behind her, Violet just watched on in disbelief at her family as they proceeded upstairs.

"Like I'll just stay down here and watch some T.V. till I'm tired." Violet waved up to the girls as they went to their individual rooms. "Night everybody."

"Night!" Misty called out to her sisters and closed the door behind her, collapsing on the bed. She stared up at the ceiling scowling over her sister's behavior. Always around when she didn't want them, never around when there was work to be done. Accurate description if she ever gave one. Unzipping her jacket she sat up and tossed it off, laying naked on the bed. She'd need to shower after being in the pool and everything else she'd done. Maybe it would help her calm down enough to sleep too. As Misty got up to head into the bathroom she looked over at her desk and caught sight of the Lighthouse Badge that Volkner had given her.

She picked it up and looked it over, remembering how it was a memento of him when she needed to remember him. She smiled a little holding onto it. Yeah maybe the night could have ended better, but everything with him had been great. She hugged the little badge against her heart and then set it on the table. No matter what though, she had spent the night with him and that had made it a good night.


	8. Switching Roles

"I guess this is our last day here, huh buddy?" Flint said to Infernape as the two tidied up the gym floor. He hadn't had a great many battles in his week as gym leader but that was fine by him. Since staying in Sunyshore he'd made one heck of an impression on the people here. Plus running a gym wasn't as bad as he'd thought it would be. There were boring moments but not as long periods of them as he had with the Elite Four. The frequency of a challenger there was much less than at the gym and Volkner still had some tough guys to deal with being the last stop for many trainers to the league. 

Volkner was supposed to arrive at any time today so Flint was prepared to hand over duties when he got back. It was early though and Flint doubted anyone was going to show up before his friend arrived. "Guess we get the honor of opening up shop one last time." Infernape nodded with approval as they switched open the shutter doors to the gym and turned their backs to walk back inside. He figured he had some time to get online for a bit before they went out for lunch when Volkner got in.

"Aw about time! I've been waiting out here forever!" Flint turned his head at the sudden excited voice that entered into the gym. 

"What the... are you a challenger?" The boy walked into the gym and looked about his surroundings, a confident smile on his face.

"You better believe it! I'm here to get a Lighthouse Badge and become the very best trainer Sinnoh has ever seen. Like no one ever was." Flint couldn't believe the corny lines coming out of this kid as he declared his dominance over every other trainer. Still cocky kids looking to prove their worth were part of the job. Maybe he even had some skill to back it up. 

"Alright kid, why don't we see what you got. You're in luck that you showed up when you did too." Flint smiled over the chance to let someone go out with a bang, taking on Sinnoh's special replacement gym leader. 

"Oh yeah, why's that?" The boy was wearing a black and orange coat and blue jeans, a common all-weather style of dress a lot of these traveling Pokemon trainers adopt. Flint was about to answer when he saw the boy take off his matching orange and black hat with the spiral pattern on the front. That's when he saw it. "Um... are you okay?" 

"Yeah I just... hm... Say you uh... wouldn't be related to anyone in Sunyshore would you?" 

"What? No! Why would you ask something weird like that?" The boy grimaced at the weird question, his eyes closed giving him sort of a fox-like face. His cheeks even seemed to have the whiskers, but that wasn't what startled Flint. It was the bright blond, spiky hair that seemed extremely similar to someone he knew. 

"Never mind. Guess it's just a coincidence. Well lets get started shall we?" Flint headed into the battle area for the gym with the boy following along excitedly. He wondered what type of Pokemon this kid had up his sleeve? Usually you can get a bead for what kind of types someone likes just by looking at them. Flint practically exuded that he was a Fire-Type trainer. With that hair maybe it was Electric-Type? Taking his position on one side of the arena, the boy took his as well. "Rules are simple; battle your Pokemon until none can compete any longer. Good luck out there um... oh yeah, what's your name kid?"

"The name's Naruto!" The boy said with a foxy grin. "And I'm going to be sure to win. Alright, lets start out strong Kurama!" He pulled out his first Pokeball and threw it out, releasing a Ninetails onto the arena. 

"Well now that's a sight. Not many of those running around Sinnoh." Infernape stepped up to take his place as Flint's first Pokemon for the battle. 

"Yeah, it was a gift from my mom and dad... when they were still around." The boy said a little sad and it caught Flint off guard.

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that, did they pass away?" 

"Heck no, they dumped me here on Sinnoh after I beat the previous Pokemon League in Kanto and told me if I really wanted to be a Pokemon Master I have to battle in all the regions." Well that... oddly made sense. This kid seemed pretty hyper-active, he bet his parents enjoyed a little free time to themselves. "I'll get one step closer to that goal too, right after this battle." 

"Don't get ahead of yourself, you might find you're in for a bigger battle than you thought." This kid had guts and a fire burning inside him. He was the kind of kid that Flint liked to see. "Get ready, cause here we go." 

**********

The alarm clock buzzed with the insistence that its owner rise from her sleep, something she did with great resentment as her hand came down on top of the clock radio and silenced it. Groaning the red head rose from under her covers and looked around the room that was dimly lit from the sun pushing its light in through the curtains. Every day previous this week she'd awoke with great enthusiasm. However that enthusiasm had left on a plane back to Sinnoh and taken her energy with it. She just wanted to sleep until it came back. 

"No being mopey now." She scolded herself. Yeah it was depressing knowing Volkner had to return home when they had been enjoying themselves so much. But she knew it was coming just as much as him, and it was no excuse to not meet the day. She still had a job to do and a gym to run and challengers to face. Getting out of bed she stretched her naked body and felt the tension in her muscles. "Guess I did a lot over the week." Amongst other more pleasurable activities she'd been on the move ever since Volkner had arrived. Now she guessed her muscles were letting her know they wanted a weekend of rest if they could get it. No chance for that.

Misty showered, cleaned herself up, dressed into her normal white swimsuit attire and got ready to head into the gym. Hopefully Violet had put together some breakfast already. It would sure be appreciated if she could get a bite to eat right away without having to prepare it herself. As she came down the stairs she was surprised to hear her sisters were all up before her and in the kitchen together. 

"Like we should totally be able to handle it if we switch off" Lily was talking about something and Misty figured it had to do with their modeling careers so she didn't pay it much mind. 

"What if we mess up though? I don't think it'll look very good on us if we can't handle it." Violet was sounding apprehensive about their conversation. Misty rounded the corner into the kitchen and waved to her sisters who were all still in their pajamas and night gowns.

"Morning." Misty greeted them with a yawn.

"Morning Sis!" Daisy chimed back with her bubbly good nature and then turned back to the conversation at hand. "It'll totally work out, even if we're not very good we're popular so the gym and aquarium wont suffer any." Misty still had no idea what they were going on about, all she noticed was no one had cooked anything yet. Meaning her next stop was the top of the refrigerator as she got a box of cereal and made her own meal. 

"I don't want to back out now that we went to all this trouble anyway." Lily insisted to Violet's doubts. "It wont be that big of a problem, we've handled it before and we can do it again."

"I guess it is for a good reason." It sounded like they had brought Violet around to their side of the conversation and Lily and Daisy looked quite happy about it. "I just hope she'll like the idea too." 

"Why wouldn't she? It's totally for her benefit after all." Daisy smiled and nodded in agreement to her own words. Misty was finally done with being left out of the loop and curiosity got the best of her. 

"So what exactly are you guys deciding on?" Misty asked before digging into her bowl of cereal. 

"The best schedule for handling who's going to be in charge of the gym." Violet answered and Misty almost choked on her food. They wanted to be in charge of the gym? These three had never wanted to be involved in anything other than projects that advertised themselves to the world. Now all of a sudden they wanted to be taking gym challenges? 

"Whoa whoa, wait a minute. Since when did you three ever want to spend your day here taking challengers and giving out badges?" Misty asked in disbelief.

"Well like someone has to do it, or else the city will close us down." Daisy answered and Misty stared more than a little shocked. In the week she'd taken off from work had the three of them forgotten about her? She didn't think any of them could possibly be that ditzy. 

"So... why exactly wouldn't I be doing that?" Misty asked almost a little upset. This was the one thing she was good at, the one thing she was known for. Being dismissed by her elder siblings for most things was something she was used to, but she wasn't going to be ignored for her talent in life. 

"You're totally a good Pokemon trainer Misty, but like I don't think you can take on challengers all the way from Sinnoh." Lily said with a smirk as she held up a piece of folded paper? Misty just stared wide eyed as if she couldn't comprehend the words. 

"Wha... what?" She put her spoon down on the table, her mind completely off the food she'd wanted so much when she woke up. 

"Lily has some totally rad connections with a lot of people." Violet smiled happily as she gave the news. "Apparently she can even get plane tickets at a really big discount." 

"We figured you'd be all mopey now that your hunky boyfriend went back home." Daisy said honestly. "So Lily got you a plane ticket to go visit him for a while, and we can take over the gym while you're gone." Misty kept staring at the three girls in disbelief. The news was shocking to her. They bought her a ticket to go visit Volkner? They went so far out of their way to give her something that made her happy? Misty's hand started to shake before she was suddenly rushed with tears. Standing up from her chair she walked over to Lily and hugged her tightly. 

"Hey now Sis, like take it easy." Lily said hugging her sister back but it didn't stop Misty from crying lightly against her shoulder. "It's no big deal." 

"Thank you!" Misty said a little louder than she intended, hugging Lily firmly. "Thank you... thank you so much. I never thought... that I'd get to do something like this so soon." She finally let go of her sister and used the sleeve of her jacket to wipe the tears away. All three women smiling at Misty's reaction to their gift. "When am I supposed to leave?" 

"Three days from now." Lily answered and Misty recoiled. It was so soon. "Was the only way I could get them, so you'll have to decide soon if you're going or not." She handed the tickets over to Misty who looked them over and fought back the urge to tear up again. They'd given her such a gift. 

"I'll go." Misty said with a bright smile. "I wont waste what you did for me. I"ll go and I'll see him again. Maybe I can figure some things out about what I should do after I'm there." 

"You mean about the two of you?" Violet asked a little concerned and Misty nodded. 

"This is a chance to decide what will happen between us. I think things are going to be okay." Misty felt her heart swell with confidence. In three days time she can go back to Sinnoh and be in his arms again. In three days time she can feel his warm embrace around her. She didn't know what would happen but she was happy she got the chance to see. 

"Oh Misty." Daisy suddenly asked and all three sisters looked Daisy's way. "Say if he wants to come visit again do you think you could get that guy Flint to come too? Like I totally want to meet him for myself. He seemed so cool." 

**********

It was still morning but the sun was shining high in the sky by the time Volkner had made his way back towards his gym. He'd missed Sunyshore but he wouldn't lie that spending time in Cerulean City had been fun. Maybe if the mayor of that town was interested he could convince them to upgrade their city like he had here. Or even in Sabrina's City, Having the Silph Company headquarters there could help him propose the idea. Would be a nice excuse to visit Kanto again. 

Volkner noticed the sign showed the building was open and he was honestly surprised. He figured Flint would be taking it easy in there with it being his last day. "Guess he was more eager for challengers than I thought." Speak of the devil; there was a young man coming through the lobby right now. He was grinning wide and looked as if he'd just won a prize. There was something kind of familiar about him though, Volkner couldn't put his finer on it. 

"Oh, sorry 'bout that." The boy looked up noticing someone was walking his direction as he exited.

"No worries. So, did you challenge the gym leader here?" Volkner was eager to hear a customer's report as to Flint's performance. Instead he got an odd look from the boy and a long stare. "... is something the matter?" 

"Dad?" Volkner nearly leaped back hearing the kid say that. Sure they were both blond, and both had blue eyes, but they didn't look that much alike... right? Besides there was no way.

"Well, unless your mom happens to be a hot red head I think you got the wrong idea." Volkner was laughing lightly until he realized he was the only one. The boy gave him an even stranger look and Volkner blinked confused. "She... she isn't right?" 

"You know mom has red hair... right?" They were both eyeballing each other cautiously now, Volkner running through a thousand possibilities in his mind. No way could a kid this old be his! Not even if Gardenia was the mother, he wouldn't have been this old from the last time they... well the last time something like that could have been possible. "My name's Naruto." 

"I'm Volkner." He answered cautiously and the boy sighed in relief.

"Oh good, you're not my old man. That's a relief. The only thing more embarrassing would have been grandpa showing up and making a fool of himself, the old lecher." Volkner grimaced at the boy. After putting him through all of that Volkner's pleasant mood was shot down. "Not that it matters, cause I just won myself a Lighthouse Badge and no one can stop me!" The Pokemon trainer held up a shiny metal badge in victory to show off to Volkner. "That was a tough fight too, I didn't expect the Sunyshore gym leader to use Fire-Type. I'd heard he was more into Electric-Type." 

"Yeah well I guess this town is just full of surprises." Volkner smirked a bit. So Flint caught an out-of-towner by surprise did he? He hoped he had fun with this kid. "So where's your next stop after this victory?" 

"Straight to the Elite Four. Going to claim my spot as a Pokemon master with a victory there, believe it!" Kid had a lot of enthusiasm. Even if they looked similar in appearance this boy had more of Flint's hot temper in him than Volkner's cool current. "Anyway, I'm going to hit the Pokemon Center then find my way to Victory Road. Take care pops." The nick-name stung at Volkner a bit. Was he really that old? No way, his young hot girlfriend assured him that he looked like a young man himself. 

"Sure thing." Volkner said waving the boy on as he left the gym grounds. Volkner thought about that for a moment after. "Huh, if that kid is already headed for the Elite Four then I wonder if he's going to beat Flint before he gets there? That could be embarrassing." Volkner turned to open the door to his gym and was shocked a second time as the door was opening and Flint was already face to face with him.

"Bout time you got here man!" His afro friend shouted in a huff. 

"Wha-what the heck!?" Volkner took a step back and got himself composed again. "There's no reason to take my head off, I thought you said you had this place handled while I was gone?" 

"I did, but I didn't count on your illegitimate son there showing up and getting a pass to get to the Elite Four. I gotta get up there in a hurry or the others wont let me live it down if they find out that kid got by me and beat me to the building for his official challenge." Flint was already jogging out the door and down the road.

"Hey wait a second, wont he recognize you the moment he sees you there!? I mean he already beat you in a match." 

"It's okay, I got a plan for that too!" Flint gave a thumbs up as he ran out of sight and Volkner sighed and shook his head.

"I've been in town for a half hour and everything is already off the walls insane around here." He pulled out a Pokeball and released his Raichu from it, the little Pokemon stretching his limbs and looking around with a happy "Chu" seeing they were home. "C'mon buddy, looks like we got to get things set up quick while the sign still says open." His Pokemon responded with a nod and Volkner went about the task of getting himself readjusted back into his normal daily routine.

**********

"Point and match!" Misty shouted in victory as her opponent's Goldeen laid in the water after being knocked unconscious. The school girl Pokemon trainer letting out a sigh as she recalled it back to her Pokeball. "Don't be disappointed Diana, your Goldeen is really showing some improvement." 

"I guess so." The teenage girl in the green bikini said looking at her Pokeball. "I feel like no matter how hard we train we'll never be able to beat you in a match." Misty recalled her Staryu back to its Pokeball as well after the battle had concluded. She then stepped off her pedestal from her position on the battlefield and walked around the pool area, coming up to the girl and her friend who had been waiting patiently to the side. 

"It takes time. You and your Goldeen aren't trying to become Pokemon Masters anyway. You said the two of you were practicing for life guard duty right?" 

"Yeah, I'm hoping eventually I'll be accepted for a part time job. From there I'm hoping to eventually become part of the coast guard." Misty smiled and nodded. It was nice having regular citizens from town come to visit and even participate in a match. It allowed her to see their growth as well as get to know people better while she worked. 

"Well with the kind of dedication and resilience you two show I wouldn't be surprised if you succeeded in just that." Misty gave the girl her encouragement and she smiled, holding her Pokeball with both hands dearly. 

"I'd just like to win a match one of these days for the fun of it." The other girl spoke up, rising from her seat. "When are your sisters going to be in charge again? I bet I could beat them." That comment however earned her a glare from Diana.

"Briana, don't say that about Misty's sisters! They're good gym leaders too." Despite Diana's polite attempt to cover up for her friend's statement Misty couldn't ignore the truth that yes indeed, it was a lot easier to get past her sisters than it was her in a Pokemon battle. 

"They're not bad but they're not Misty." Briana went on to elaborate her point. "You always see an increase in out of town opponents show up when ever they take over the gym too." Misty was never around during those times to see this influx of new people every time she wasn't in charge but she suspected it may have had less to do with her sisters being easy targets and more to do with their figures in bathing suits. 

"Well I guess they just... want a chance to try a variety of opponents." Misty tried to cover for her sisters politely. "If you really want to challenge them you'll get your chance soon. In about three days they'll be taking over for me again." Both girls looked at her surprised then at each other. Strangely enough they both got a mischievous smile about them.

"So you're going back to see him are you?" Briana asked and it stopped Misty cold in her tracks. 

"Wow, I didn't know if it was true but I guess she really is dating that guy." Misty looked between the two teenagers completely baffled. How the heck did they know about her and Volkner? Sure she hadn't hid that they were a couple when they were out together while he was visiting. But still for them to be so confident about him being the reason she was leaving. "You must really like this guy?"

"He was totally hot looking. I bet her sisters tried to steal him away at some point." Briana teased further and it got a giggle out of Diana in response. Misty wasn't as amused however.

"Okay, hold it right there!" Misty interrupted their gossip session, having just about enough of this. "How the heck do you two know why I'm leaving and where I'm going to?" The girls looked at her confused.

"Misty, don't you know?" Diana asked and Misty shook her head, still not believing what was going on before her. Diana walked over to her backpack where she kept her clothes and belongings while they were at the pool area and pulled out a news paper. "Everyone's seen it already." She handed the paper over to Misty and she was stopped cold again. There on the front page was a picture of her and Volkner standing next to each other on the street at night. "His name is Volkner right?" 

"Y-yeah... when... when did someone get a picture? Why the heck are we in the newspaper?" She read the headline, which said Dynamic Duo Thwarts Thieves. She understood then. "Oh, this is when we visited Saffron City. I didn't think... I didn't know anyone had reported this to the news." 

"Are you kidding, it was the talk of the school when this came out." Briana shared happily. "First off that you were in some huge battle and that you were dating some guy from Sinnoh. Is he really a gym leader just like you?" 

"Yeah... yeah he is." Misty was absorbing all of this slowly. "This is in the paper, that means everyone's going to see it... Oh brother." She sighed suddenly aware of what was going to be coming up soon. "Hey girls I think I better get ready to close the gym for the day. Will you be okay letting yourselves out?" 

"Sure thing Misty, and congratulations!" Diana said in assurance to her. "I know you've had some bad luck with guys before, so I hope this one is as good as he looks." The girls all said their good byes as the two went into the locker room for the women. Misty turned and headed the opposite direction to the hallway that would bring her around back to the living quarters of the building. 

"Now lets see here... 'Amazing gym leader duo fights of attacking horde of thieves hand in hand. Battling against over-whelming odds they show why it's never a good idea to take on a team of Pokemon Trainer professionals.' Wow is this a news report or a fight promoter?" She scanned the words looking for anything suggestive to her relationship with Volkner or worse someone having caught the sight of her and Sabrina kissing on a public bench. "Well... the article seems complimentary; that's a relief." Last thing she needed to hear about was any mud being slung their way and causing her family trouble. She was still upset of those accusations of Lily being in a porno for extra money that appeared on the internet some months back. 

"Hey Misty, you like got a call." Daisy shouted from the living room on the land line phone. "It's Brock, he wants to talk to you or something."

"Okay, I'll take it." Should have known. Misty trudged into the room leaving the newspaper behind by the exit to the gym. "Thanks Daisy." 

"Totally!" Her blond sister responded and walked off, Misty pulling the phone up to her ear and preparing for the series of questions that would be uncomfortable to answer. "Hello Brock." 

"Hey there Misty." Well he sounded happy, that was a good sign. "How are you doing, feeling alright?" 

"Yeah, I'm okay Brock. How are you doing?" Maybe he hadn't seen the paper. Maybe this was just a pleasant call between friends and it had nothing to do with boyfriends or battles or Brock being worried that the guy she liked was getting her into dangerous situations and she was finding herself performing more and more sexually devious acts every chance she got with him. No, none of that at all.

"I'm okay, was just looking at the paper here." Well fuck. "Couldn't help but notice you were on the front page." Double fuck.

"Yeah... about that..." 

"Looks like you cleaned their clocks pretty good. Kinda reminds me of the old days with Team Rocket huh?" Misty was surprised to hear his voice carried the same lighthearted tone and not the angry, big brother talk she was expecting.

"Yeah... more than you know. Say Brock, I should tell you that the guy in that picture with me is the guy from the party we had in Sinnoh some months back." 

"I know, couldn't mistake him for anyone else." This was going a lot better than she expected. "I guess he did a good job of keeping you safe?" 

"That he did!" Misty suddenly shared, feeling her confidence beam with Brock's approval. Not that she needed it but it was nice having your friends be supportive of your decisions. "Everything leading up to that night was great too, he came all the way from Sinnoh to visit me. My sisters even liked him." 

"So he survived the family interview even huh? Hey has Daisy asked about me at all since I visited last?" Now that was classic Brock. Never forgets a beautiful face. 

"Sorry Romeo, but you've got some new competition. They've all gotten a sudden interest in Volkner's friend Flint. But if you want to try and outmatch him I'm sure we could find you some spandex swim shorts somewhere." She heard Brock shudder over the phone and Misty couldn't hold back the laugh.

"Er... I think I'll pass on that." Brock confessed, his pride apparently being a bit stronger than his lust for once. "So this guy is a good one huh?" 

"Yeah, I think he really is. Um... I'm actually planning to see him again really soon." There was a sudden silence on Brock's end so she continued. "In about two more days I'm flying out to Sinnoh to see him again."

"So soon?" Brock probably didn't know much about what their vacation entailed but the date on the newspaper was enough to show he'd been in town at least yesterday. "Wow... you're serious about this huh?" 

"That's what I need to know." Misty pulled a chair over by the phone as she sat down near it. "Lily was kind enough to get me these tickets and I'm not about to turn them down when she went to all this trouble. Plus it's sort of like... you know back in the days we were on the road together Brock I never really felt like it was my journey. Did you ever get that feeling?" 

"I... yeah I can understand what you're saying." That was something else that bonded the two, not just the time they spent together but in the manner in which it was spent. They'd both seen some amazing things and been part of many adventures but really it was never their adventure completely. It wasn't their story so much as it belonged to another they were following. "Heck I was on the road even longer than you were and I still see what you're getting at there." 

"Right. Well this is like my journey. This is my adventure, for better or worse. It's not the same as the one we were on before but it's important to me and I need to do it. The sooner the better while my mind is made up on it." She heard Brock let out a sigh on the other end of the phone. 

"Yeah, okay. I get that. But promise you'll be careful out there, okay Misty?"

"I couldn't stand getting an 'I told you so' on the way back. Don't worry Brock, I'm still a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"Doesn't mean we can't worry about you." He really was a sweet heart. "Okay, I just wanted to see how things were going with you since I saw all of this in the paper. I'll let you get going. Say hi to your sisters for me okay?" 

"Sure thing Romeo." Misty giggled to herself. "Take care Brock." 

"You too Misty." The two said their good byes and Misty set the phone back on the hook. It was nice having someone look out for her like that, even if she didn't really need it. Going to Sinnoh alone might be scary but she had Volkner there waiting for her. There was no better arms to be in. Misty turned to walk away from the phone when it suddenly rang again. Startled she jumped for a second and picked it up on the second ring. 

"Hello, Cerulean Gym." 

"Hi Misty." The female voice came on over the line. "So you're leaving already." 

"Sabrina! I just got off the phone with Brock about... hey wait did you just call by coincidence right after I finished my conversation with him or did you use your powers for this?" 

"If I told that would make it less mysterious." No one had any idea how confusing it can be sometimes having a friend who was psychic. You never knew what parts they were already aware of and what they weren't. "We made the paper too, although it looks like they just got a picture of you and Volkner and missed the two of us." 

"Y-yeah... lucky us huh?" Misty felt her cheeks flush at the mention of that moment again. She wondered how Sabrina could mention it so casually. Better change topic. "But yeah, I'm going in three days. Lily got me tickets to fly out there." 

"You're not going to tell him you're coming?" Son of a... she hadn't even considered that part yet. "No, I don't think you are. It's payback for him sneaking out to Kanto to visit you right?" 

"You looked into the future?" Misty asked wide eyed. 

"No, I just know you and since you both told me he surprised you when he visited I knew you'd want to do the same." Misty was pouting over how easily she was being read without actually getting a psychic reading. "You haven't forgotten what I said right?" 

"About something bad happening if I go out there? Yeah, I didn't forget. You remember what I said right?"

"That you can handle it." Even though she repeated it back to Misty, Sabrina's voice didn't sound confident in the words she spoke.

"Yes, and I stand by those words. You don't have to be scared Sabrina. I'll be fine." She heard a small grumble over the phone and recognized it as the woman not agreeing with her. "Really, I can take care of myself. Besides you warned me ahead of time so I'm extra prepared if something did show up." 

"Okay... nothing is really certain in the future anyway." Sabrina gave off a heavy sigh. "Sorry Misty I just can't get some things off my mind." 

"Hey, how about this. I'll check in with you every so often. That way you'll be reassured as to what's going on. Does that sound okay?" 

"I'd... I'd like that. A lot." Misty smiled, she knew Sabrina didn't get out much with people so having Misty to talk to helped her out. "Thank you Misty. I better let you go now. Daisy's about to come in with something she needs your help on. Talk to you later." 

"Oh! Um... later Sabrina." Misty put the phone on the hook and sure enough Daisy came around the corner looking as if she were puzzled over something. 

"Misty, there you are. Like can I ask you a question? I'm totally going to be the first one running the gym when you leave so which suit should I wear when I'm doing challenges and stuff?" Daisy held up the two swimsuits she was proposing to wear for the challengers coming to visit. Neither really matched Misty's own white one piece with the blue trim. In fact neither of Daisy's were a one piece... and they had slightly less fabric than what Misty would wear as undergarments. 

"Daisy you um... you know you don't have to wear a swim suit when running the gym right?" Misty tried to gently push her sister away from the idea but as always Daisy was set on her goals.

"But you do like almost every day! Except on certain days for like obvious reasons. So I totally want to match too so that people take me seriously and junk." Misty couldn't help but look defeated at Daisy's logic for wanting one of the two skimpy bikini's for such a reason. Sighing she gave up and caved in. 

"The one in the small triangles. It's at least white like mine is." Yeah, they were going to get a lot of visitors. She hoped the gift shop did really well this year.

**********

"Well dear boy I am certainly impressed! You and your Pokemon work very well together." The blond boy smiled to himself as the older woman heaped praise upon him. Still she had been pretty tough, living up to her reputation as one of the Elite Four.

"Thanks Ms. Bertha, we're a special kind of team, Team Seven to be exact. Six Pokemon and one Trainer. Isn't that right Kurama?" The Ninetails let out a grunt of pride as it was still standing from the fierce opponent they had faced. Naruto and his Pokemon had worked hard getting up to the championships, heading out as soon as they were able from Sunyshore and right through Victory Road. There wasn't really a time limit but he felt like every second not pursuing his goal was a second wasted. 

"So it seems, I look forward to seeing just how far you and that Ninetails can go together. You may pass but I warn you, the next opponent is even more fierce than myself. Prepare yourself young one." Bertha stepped aside and allowed Naruto to move forward into the next room. The boy adjusted his orange hat with the spiral symbol on it that he'd kept from when he was back in his home region of Kanto. 

"We'll earn victory, believe it. Lets go Kurama." Naruto and the Ninetails walked forward into the doorway and to the next room. Naruto had no idea what kind of opponent he'd be facing but he was eager. Two of the Elite Four defeated, two more to go. He was half way to the end and the excitement was building. Walking into the next chamber he stopped suddenly seeing a familiar red afro. "...wait." 

"So you made it here finally, huh Trainer? Well I've been looking forward to it since they told me a new challenger arrived." Naruto stood totally confused as Flint turned to face him. Even his Ninetails had to stop for a moment to comprehend the situation. 

"No this... this isn't right is it?" Naruto looked around to see if maybe the real Elite Four member was hiding somewhere.

"But you better bring all the heat you can muster, because when Flint lights his fire there's nothing I can't burn through!" Flint pulled out a Pokeball and Naruto was beyond comprehension.

"Whoa whoa whoa, what's the big idea here!? You're the gym leader from Sunyshore!" Naruto pointed a finger accusingly at Flint who just looked at the boy confused.

"Gym Leader of Sunyshore... no, no that's not me. I'm Flint of the Elite Four. Why do you think I was waiting for you in this room?" That did make sense but... there's no way. Naruto knew who he battled this morning. Pulling out his case with his badges he quickly looked over the Lighthouse Badge to make sure it was real. 

"It feels real... and looks similar to all the others, except for the weird sticker on the back. Hey, is this some kind of joke!? What do you go down to the last gym before the league looking to knock out all the challengers?" Flint still looked at the boy confused and Naruto was baffled as to what was happening before him.

"Oooooh wait a minute, you must be talking about my twin brother." Naruto's mouth literally hung open at the mention of something so ridiculous.

"Twin... brother?" 

"Yeah, my twin brother; Flaunt. That guy is such a jerk, always trying to impersonate me and give me a bad reputation. Why the real leader of Sunyshore Gym is a guy named Volkner. Guess Flaunt took you for a ride, huh kid?" Naruto looked at the floor like he was trying to make sense of all of this, not that any of it added up. How did that other guy, Flaunt apparently, manage to get into the gym and host a battle? Heck he even had real badges and was pretty strong too. "Well it doesn't matter now. You managed to make it this far so I'd say you're a worthy opponent."

"Yeah... I guess so." Naruto took his hat off and scratched his head, totally lost still but that didn't change the fact he needed to move forward if he wanted to grasp a victory today. "Well... alright then, Kurama are you ready to go?" The Ninetails barked in reply and jumped forward, ready to battle. Flint responded by tossing out his Pokeball, releasing an Infernape onto the field. "HEY! That guy used that exact same Pokemon too!" 

"Yeah, I told you he's a real dick. So we gonna do this or what?"


	9. Double The Fun

"Looks like this is it." Misty said as she stood just outside the gate to get onto her plane. "I can't believe I'm doing this." 

"Like you better be doing this after all the trouble we went through." Lily said as she watched her little sister. "It wasn't easy getting those tickets y'know." 

"Not to worry, there's no way I'm backing down now." Misty said as she smiled from ear to ear looking towards the plane through one of the airport windows. "I'm just so totally excited y'know?" She caught herself speaking like her sisters but she was so happy she didn't really care. Her eyes sparkling with the promise of the adventure before her and her lover awaiting her.

"Misty, you may wanna calm it down a bit." Violet said sounding slightly embarrassed at Misty's giddy outburst.

"Even after all these years she still totally acts like a kid." Lily said amused.

"I can't help it." Misty exclaimed not caring at all if they teased her. "I'm just so happy right now. Thank you again Lily." Misty hugged her sister tightly and Lily couldn't help but feel some of that happiness too as she hugged back. 

"Okay okay, you're totally embarrassing me too now. Your flight's about to board so don't go being late for it." Misty let go and then hugged Violet tightly as well. 

"I'm sorry Daisy couldn't come but someone had to watch the gym." Violet apologized and Misty shook her head.

"It's okay, she already wished me a safe flight back home. Besides once word gets out she's running the gym today I'm sure she'll be really busy." Each of the Cerulean sisters had an understanding of that statement. Violet and Lily had gotten to see Daisy's swim suit for taking challengers and they expected the usual crowd to come in for it. 

"We better get back soon then, there's totally some extra money to be made with this." Lily smiled mischievously and the other girls looked on confused.

"You mean the gift shop will get more sales?" Violet asked innocently and Lily shook her head.

"No way, I've set up a camera in the gift shop area. We can totally take pictures with the trainers and sell them. Like that's a pretty smart idea, right?" Violet and Misty just smiled nervously at the idea of posing in their suits with boys to take pictures with them. "Like don't leave us hanging forever Misty, there's still some guys that'll only battle when you're around. Guess they got a thing for red heads." 

"Y-yeah... I'll keep that in mind." The overhead speakers announced Misty's flight and she gave her sisters another quick hug. "Bye guys, I'll let you know all about it when I get back." 

"Call us when you get there!" Violet called out to her before Misty ran off to get in line for seating. They stayed there to watch on all the way until Misty was through verifying her ticket and got on board. Thankfully she didn't have a lot of luggage; just her back pack that held a few changes of clothing and some personal items she'd need. Stowing it away Misty settled into her seat and let out a breath to calm herself down. It didn't work. 

"Oh my gosh I can't believe I'm doing this." She said still filled with excitement. She hadn't told Volkner yet she was coming. Not that they hadn't talked, she'd made sure to check up on him as soon as he got back to Sunyshore safely. However she wanted her appearance to be a surprise much like how he'd surprised her with his arrival. It was just her little way of getting him back. There was no way he'd be expecting her to show up so early either. She couldn't wait to see the look on his face. Plus it would be fun to meet Flint and talk with him about all the things he and Volkner had done together. Maybe she could even drop Daisy's number for him if he was interested in talking to her. 

"Pardon me, may I have the window seat?" Misty blinked out of her little daydream by the female voice that spoke up to her. Misty looked around to see a girl with dark hair pulled back in a spiky ponytail asking if she could scoot into the chair closest to the window. 

"Oh yeah, sorry. I was just daydreaming. Hey... wait a minute." Misty suddenly realized this girl looked very familiar. As a matter of fact she knew her. "Janine?" 

"Misty?" Janine's eyes widened as she recognized her fellow gym leader. "What are you doing on this plane?" 

"I could ask you the same thing. Here, come on in." Misty scooted out of the way to let Janine slide into her seat, the girl slipping into her chair easily as Misty settled down again. "Well this is a wonderful surprise. Now I have a friend to ride on the plane with." 

"Yeah, I'm glad too. But why are you flying to Sinnoh?" 

"Well you see..." Misty wasn't sure how much Janine might have known after Misty and Volkner appeared in the newspaper. She was friends with the other gym leaders just like herself but she never seemed to be on top of what was going on with each other's lives like Sabrina would be. What the heck, might as well tell her the truth. No harm in it. "I'm going to go visit my boyfriend." Janine looked surprised.

"You mean you're going out with someone?" 

"Yep!" Misty said confidently, kind of pleased with the reaction she got.

"You have a boyfriend already? I mean it's not like you couldn't have one I just... I didn't think you were dating anybody." Janine put her hands together and rubbed her thumbs against each other. It was an oddly nervous habit for the young ninja girl that trained Poison-Type Pokemon. "Is it anyone I know?" 

"Do you remember Volkner from that party we were at in Sinnoh?" 

"You mean that guy you disappeared from the party with!?" Janine asked even more shocked now than before, Misty blushed as they got a few glances their direction. She was having flash backs to her conversation with Brock on the same subject the last time they had it. "I didn't know you guys were going out." 

"Well we were sort of just spending a lot of time talking with each other after we had met but once he visited me in Cerulean it became a lot more serious." Janine listened completely transfixed on this news she was learning. 

"That's pretty amazing Misty. You're really grown up." Janine looked down at her lap as if she were lost in thought, Misty getting a little concerned. Her friend usually had a lot of energy and was full of enthusiasm. Today she seemed almost melancholy and she wondered if maybe it had to do with the plane ride. "I'd like to hear more about it if you don't mind sharing." 

"Are you sure? It'll take a while to share all the details." 

"I've got time. I'd like to listen if that's okay?" Misty nodded it was fine and so she relayed the past events of herself and Volkner, all the way to his sudden arrival in Kanto and up to the point where they had to say good bye... minus the naughty bits of course.

**********

"Still nothing." Volkner said refreshing his email on his computer. He'd expected some sort of word from Misty by now but it didn't look like he was going to hear from her today. "I guess she's busy." They didn't message each other every day but usually three days didn't pass between them where they didn't send some kind of contact to one another. He'd hoped to get in a phone call before it got too late tonight. Still as a gym leader himself he knew how busy one could get. Volkner's Raichu walked up to his side and pulled at his pant leg with little "Chus" of eagerness. "Need to go out buddy? I wont keep you waiting." Volkner pet his Raichu and rose from his computer chair.

Grabbing a hold of his Pokeballs Volkner dropped them into his pockets and headed outside of the gym. He wondered what things were like for Misty now that he'd left and she was back in her normal routine. Since arriving at Sunyshore himself Volkner was busy nearly every day. In between taking Pokemon challenges for both league challengers and the regular citizens that had been awaiting his return Volkner was also up and running with checking on the electronics for the city to be sure they were operating correctly. 

"That reminds me, the guy at Silph Company was asking me about a branch here. I'll have to remember to send an email to the mayor. Raichu, think you can remind me?" 

"Chu." Raichu nodded and Volkner smiled his way. Raichu really was just about the best partner he could ask for. Plus he apparently was a hit with the ladies which after his vacation was really good to know. Volkner wasn't any kind of a ladies' man or even a flirt of any sort. But he'd seen so many beautiful women over the weekend and spent so much time with Misty that you'd think he was coming back from some sort of a paradise. 

"Don't get lost in memories now." Volkner reminded himself as they walked past the gym entrance and to a large grassy field near by. The wind was picking up but despite it Raichu didn't look upset; he seemed excited. As he got higher onto the field Volkner saw other people there as well with their Pokemon, including a trainer that frequented his gym. "Hi Jerry." 

"Volkner, good to see you back man." The guitarist with the long blond hair said with his usual stoner tone. "We missed you guys around here. Hey Luxio, it's Volkner's Raichu. Gonna say hi?" The little cat Pokemon looked around after hiding behind its owners legs, then slowly came out when it saw Raichu. The two Pokemon talked to each other a little and Luxio relaxed. "It was a trip having Flint here for a whole week y'know. That guy is totally wild."

"I bet, he really made an impression on everyone." Volkner had heard a lot of stories so far about Flint's escapades in Sunyshore. It was mostly all positive though which made Volkner happy in his choice for replacement. His beach party had been the talk of the town. "Even if he did go a little crazy with spending on that party." 

"Hey you can tell him he's welcome to come back any time. Don't normally get that many babes on the beach, hear what I'm saying? You really missed out." Volkner could only smirk to himself. He seriously doubted that. There was a rumble of thunder overhead and both men looked up at the dark sky, seeing a bolt of lightning shoot across. 

"Looks like it's time." Volkner pulled the rest of his Pokeballs out, releasing his Luxray, Electivire and Jolteon onto the grass. The three Pokemon shook their fur loose and all perked up seeing the display of lightning in the sky. Luxray looked back to see the little Luxio with Raichu and bared its teeth that direction. The Luxio hid behind Raichu for protection.

"That Luxray of yours has still got a bad attitude, man." Jerry commented as the aggressive Pokemon walked further into the field with Volkner's other Pokemon. 

"He's a lot of talk, he wont attack unless I tell him to." That also reminded Volkner of Kanto; the battle he'd had along side Misty. Luxray had shown his strength and then some during that battle. He'd have to get him and Electivire some treats later. "Raichu, can you stay with Jerry's Luxio as you go out?" The little Pokemon nodded and walked out into the grass with the timid cat Pokemon. 

"Looks like it's gonna be a big one this time." Jerry said as he looked at the black clouds rolling in and the promise of thunder and lightning they brought with it. All the Electric-Type Pokemon took towards the center of the field to collect on this wild energy as it would unleash itself. "Just glad I'm not out there having to travel or anything y'know?"

"That's true, I don't think anything's getting through this storm for a while."

**********

Misty had spent the better part of their flight relaying the details of her vacation with Volkner to her friend. Janine asked questions here and there but mostly she just listened looking transfixed by the story. Misty got the impression Janine's thoughts were drifting onto things while she talked. As if her story had spurred some kind of debate in the girl that she was contemplating every so often. "So after that battle in Saffron Volkner stayed in Cerulean for the night and had to leave in the morning. He had to go really early so I didn't get to see him off I'm afraid. Had to open the gym the next day." Janine was looking down at her hands which were wrapped together, a bit dazed. "Did I ramble on too much? Sorry if it got kind of boring."

"No no!" Janine responded quickly afraid she'd offended her friend. "No it was a really good story actually. I'm happy for you Misty that you found someone you like so much. You're doing really well for yourself." The girl smiled but it seemed kind of forced. 

"Are you okay Janine? You've been really quiet this whole trip and I've never known you to act so low." The ninja girl sighed. 

"I'm that obvious huh? I guess dad is right, if I can't even hide my emotions then I'm not a great ninja yet." Her depression seemed to deepen and Misty panicked that she'd upset the girl.

"Wait a second, don't get so upset. I mean you're still the best ninja I've ever seen and you're a really great trainer too." Misty laughed nervously trying to perk the girl up but it didn't seem to work. Apparently whatever was getting to Janine was pretty deeply rooted. "By the way, you still haven't said why you're on this flight." Janine rubbed her hands in that nervous habit again and braced herself to relay her story.

"Well you see... my father made me go on this trip. He took over the gym from me and told me to leave." The words sounded so cold. "He said I couldn't return until I'd mastered what I was missing." Misty sat confused, wondering if she somehow missed something in this story.

"Soooo... what are you missing?" Janine was quiet for a little bit until she finally responded under her breath.

"I don't know." Her head turned to look out the window and Misty regretted asking her this. She knew that Janine's father Koga was a bit of a hard act to follow; a master ninja and one of the Elite Four. But his daughter looked up to him so much. How was it that he could send her away on a hopeless quest with no direction or idea as to what she's supposed to accomplish? "All I know is my father threw me out because I wasn't good enough." 

"Now hold on there." Misty put a hand on Janine's shoulder and the girl looked over surprised from the touch. "I don't know the first thing about being a ninja but I do know about being a gym leader. Janine you are great at what you do." Janine's face was still unsure despite the encouragement. "If Koga wanted you to go on a journey to improve yourself then it must be because he saw something in you that could grow to be better. I can't believe he wouldn't want you to succeed." 

"It's just... Misty I've never been so far away from my daddy before." Janine looked towards the window again. "I know that sounds childish but it's true. Just getting on this plane was hard for me. How am I going to make it some place so far away from my home and away from him?" Janine's admiration for her father was something well known amongst the other gym leaders. She was almost as bad as Falkner with the hero worship they both threw onto their parents. Maybe that was the point? To make her toughen up without him around. 

"Then you just gotta make him proud." Misty said and gave Janine a reassuring smile. "The sooner you accomplish your task the sooner you can head back to Kanto." Janine looked her way again with a sigh. "Trust me, I've been on the road before when I was younger. It's actually a lot of fun traveling from town to town and testing your skills. If someone like me could survive out there then someone as strong as you wont have any problems." 

"You really think so?" Janine asked. 

"I know so. So buck up kid, we're both on an adventure." Janine slowly smiled back, and the two girls laughed lightly together. 

"Thank you Misty. You really helped me." Janine said still sounding fragile. 

"Not a problem. We'll walk forward with our chins held high and our eyes set on the horizon." There was a ding from the overhead to alert the passengers that the intercom was about to be used. Both girls quieted down to listen. 

"Aaaaaattention passengers, this is your captain speaking. Weeeee will be arriving in Jubilife City within the next fifteen minutes. Pleeeease place up your tray tables aaaaaand set your seats in their upright position." Misty wondered if it was required of airplane captains to speak with that unusual drag on their voice. Last two times she flied they did the same thing. "Aaaalso of note, we've reports the weather in Sunyshore haaaaaas gotten notices of severe thunder storms. Aaaaaall flights have been cancelled heading into the east portion of Sinnoh. Weeeee want to thank you for flying Clifair Lines International aaaaaaand enjoy your evening in Jubilife City." 

"....Whaaaaaat?" Misty said in disbelief. 

"Oh no, that's where Volkner is isn't it?

**********

About a half hour later Janine found herself outside the Jubilife City Airport as Misty trudged out to join her. Since they had landed Misty hadn't looked near as chipper as she had on the flight over and her attitude was even worse since. "No luck getting a flight right over huh?" Janine asked her discouraged friend.

"There's just no way. They said the thunderstorm is going to last for possibly the next day or two. No flights in or out. Looks like I'm stuck here for a little bit." 

"Sorry Misty." Misty sighed and shook her head.

"No, it's okay Janine. At least I made it to Sinnoh. It would have been even worse if they had to turn the plane all the way around. Though I guess it's not always sunny in Sunyshore after all." Janine gave her a confused look at the catch phrase but didn't question it. "Looks like I'm going to have to find a place to spend the night." 

"You could always stay at the Pokemon Center. They usually have cots or benches for people to sleep at when they're traveling." Misty considered that but didn't like the idea of it. She hadn't slept at a Pokemon Center since she was a kid. The idea of going in there for charity and a roof over her head at her age just felt wrong.

"Nah, I guess I'll just see if there's an affordable motel around. I didn't bring a whole lot of money for this trip since I thought I'd be staying with Volkner the whole time." She looked at her wallet in despair, imagining the hit it was about to take. Then the obvious idea occurred to her. "Hey Janine, how about we both go half on a room? It would lessen the burden on you for your trip and we could both get a place to sleep."

"Actually Misty I'm going to sleep in a tree." Misty just stared at her for a few minutes as if the words didn't really make sense to her. She thought the sentence over again and confirmed yes she meant a tree.

"You're spending the night... in a tree?" 

"Yeah, it's part of my ninja training. You have to be able to sleep in all conditions and environments. If you like I could find one with two branches big enough to sleep on. I could even tie you down so you can sleep easier." Janine even pulled the rope out of her travel bag to demonstrate, a sight not lost on the people walking by that over heard Janine's suspicious words. Misty blushed and encouraged Janine to put the rope away.

"No that's okay, I think I'll just find a place that I can afford. Thank you for the offer Janine." Misty said forcing a smile on her face to not make the girl embarrassed as well. 

"Okay then, I guess I should get started on my own journey like you said. Thank you for talking with me on the plane Misty. I'm not sure I would have made it this far in Sinnoh without your encouragement." Janine gave Misty a hug and she hugged her back.

"Aw, it wasn't really anything at all Janine. But you're welcome. I'm glad I got to see you too." The two broke their embrace and Janine waved goodbye.

"Let's meet again when I make it to Sunyshore." 

"Okay!" Misty waved goodbye as the ninja girl ran off into the city and into the night, looking more like her energetic self than before. "Well then, I guess that just leaves me to take care of." Misty began walking into the night as well. Cataloging all of the things she had and what she'd need to do. Aside from the blue jeans and yellow shirt she was wearing she'd brought along about three sets of outfits to wear and her swimsuit from the gym. Along with that a few toiletries that would be necessary and her Pokemon in their Pokeballs. She'd easily get through just a day or two waiting for her flight to become available again but she wasn't sure how big a hit her wallet could take paying for food and a room two days over. 

"Looks like I'll have to be frugal." First thing was first; she had to find a place to stay. Walking along the street and asking a police officer where the most affordable hotels were she was directed to a single portion of town and thanked the friendly officer Jenny. Strolling over not far from the airport Misty found herself looking over the hotels... and their size. "Whoa." 

They were big and impressive looking. Nothing like the motel she'd been expecting. Misty wandered through some of the hotel lobbies but the information she discovered wasn't that great. One after the other was way out of her price range. Matter of fact they just seemed to get more expensive looking the farther she went. "I can't believe this. With a town so big you'd think they would have a few cheap motels for people to sleep in. How could anyone afford these places?"

Grumbling Misty sat on a bench and sighed, looking at all the people walking about on the street. Everyone seemed so energetic and carefree. This town must have had an active nightlife, as she understood it this was one of the biggest places in all of Sinnoh. "Here I thought Sunyshore would be the party town with how high tech it was. Then again that night Volkner took me out there wasn't that many people on the streets either." Volkner... she wondered how he was doing. She should find a phone and maybe let him know what happened. It would spoil the surprise but at least she wouldn't be stuck her for a day without a place to sleep and no way to contact her family and friends. It wasn't like anyone would magically come along to rescue her.

"Misty?" Misty snapped back to reality hearing a female voice say her name. Looking up she was met with light brown eyes staring back at her. "Oh my gosh Misty it is you! I can't believe I just ran into you like this." Misty backed up a little on the bench as she absorbed who was standing before her. It took her a moment to understand what she was seeing. 

"Duplica?" Indeed the copycat trainer was here in the flesh. She was wearing a pink top and white skirt and had her green hair back in a pony tail as opposed to the pig tails Misty was used to seeing her in.

"You remember me." Duplica said smiling brightly. "I was hoping you would, it's been ages since we've seen each other. What are you doing in Sinnoh?" Misty slowly stood up to face her old friend, off guard at running into yet another person she knew unexpectedly. First Janine and now Duplica; it was pretty amazing who you could find when you traveled. 

"I uh... I was traveling." Well duh Misty, give some specifics. "I mean I was traveling to Sunyshore but my flight got delayed. There's a thunderstorm going on there they said." 

"Oh. I guess that makes sense, the thunderstorms in Sunyshore can be pretty intense. I guess that's why so many people use Electric-Types in that town." A more topical subject than she knew. "So you're stuck in Jubilife until you can head there huh?" Duplica was so cheerful it had put Misty off guard. Just a moment ago she was deep in self pity over her situation of not having a place to sleep for the night. But Duplica was so bubbly it was hard not to smile along with her. 

"Yeah, I was trying to find a place to sleep for the night but it looks like most of these places are out of my price range." Misty said looking back at the hotels disappointed and feeling a little ashamed having to admit her poverty after not seeing her friend in so long. "I guess I might have to pull up a cot at the Pokemon Center after all." 

"Why don't you just stay over at my place?" Duplica said and Misty looked up in surprise.

"Wha-what? But... Duplica I couldn't impose on you..." 

"It's not imposing. I'm inviting you. Besides I haven't seen you in so long that it would be great to have a friend over to spend the night." Misty thought about it. She felt kind of rude just walking in on Duplica like this. Years apart and when she sees her again the first thing she does is ask for a place to stay? Then again she was inviting her. They were friends. "Please? I can't just leave you out here now that I know what's up." 

"Okay, you win. You can take me home tonight." Misty laughed a little and Duplica giggled as well, winking at her. 

"See, I knew I was charming enough to get you over to my place. Did you need to get something to eat before we go?" 

"I'm okay actually, I had a big meal before I took the flight out. I can't wait to see your place." 

"I hope you'll like it, I haven't had company over in a long time."

**********

"Wow." Misty said looking at the interior of Duplica's apartment.

"That's the third time you've said that." Duplica giggled taking off her shoes and walking inside, Misty doing the same. Yes she had said it repeatedly but each time it was earned. When she saw the building Duplica lived in she was impressed; it was a downtown lush apartment building. Once they got inside she saw the lobby and realized this wasn't just a tall building for people with the money to live in the city, it was a high class place complete with elevator operators. She wondered how exactly Duplica could afford all of this. "Make yourself at home."

"Glad to." Misty walked over to the couch and sat on it. "Soft." She flopped down onto the cushions and got comfortable right away. Duplica watched with a smile. "This place is amazing Duplica."

"Thanks, I think it's pretty nice. Most of this stuff I had when I was in Kanto so all I really had to do was pay for the apartment. Would you like something to drink?" 

"Sure, I'll take anything you're having." Duplica confirmed that and went into the kitchen while Misty got up and looked around. It really was a nice apartment. She had a big couch, nice TV, a couple of pieces of art on the wall. Even a few photos she recognized from when Duplica used to do her imitation show back in Kanto. Picking herself up off the comfy couch Misty walked over to the shelf near the TV and looked over the DVD's there. "She's got quite a collection." There were several DVDs all along the shelf. A lot of them were popular movies Misty recognized but after a while she started to notice something. 

"Wait a minute..." Some of these titles were kind of suspicious. Whitney's Milk Tanks. Clair's Dragon Ride. Jasmine's Hard Steel Rod. "Those aren't what I think they are are they?" Erica in Full Bloom. Sabrina's Mental Connection. Nurse Joy's Special Treatment. "I think they are..." Misty looked over the boxes closely and noticed they all had the same logo of production company. Not only that they all had an over eighteen rating for their content. Duplica had a collection of pornography right out in the open. It wasn't limited to those DVD's either; at least half the cases on the shelf were porn movies. 

"Lemonade?" Duplica came up next to her with the drink and Misty recoiled with a red face. 

"Why yes thank you!" Misty said taking the glass and retreating to the couch, hoping Duplica hadn't noticed her looking over the collection. To Duplica's credit she didn't act embarrassed or even concerned by Misty's reaction. Instead just calmly sitting next to her on the couch and drinking from her own glass. Misty was trying to fight the expression of embarrassment on her face that she'd been caught looking over the porn. 

"So why was it you were traveling to Sunyshore?" Misty heard the question but all she could wonder was if she was caught and what Duplica was thinking of her right now. Wait why was she worried? Duplica was the one that had all that porn out in the open in the first place. It's not Misty's fault she saw it. Then again she did go looking over her things... "Misty?"

"Oh right right! Sorry." Get a grip and just act normal. So your friend watches porn, big deal. It's not like Misty hadn't seen any before. She was just much more reserved about it. "Actually I was on my way to visit Volkner in Sunyshore." 

"Oh, the gym leader there. I hear he's a very good trainer. Were you looking to get a lighthouse badge?" 

"Actually I already got one." Misty said with a smirk and Duplica looked confused. "I was visiting to see him. We're sort of going out." Duplica suddenly got a big smile when she heard Misty say that.

"Wow Misty, I had no idea. You managed to bag a trainer like him from a whole region away." Misty smiled at the compliment. "Although it really sucks then that you weren't able to fly out to see him. I'm sure you two were looking forward to getting together."

"Well the truth is he doesn't know I'm coming." Duplica raised an eye brow curiously at Misty's statement. "I'm looking to surprise him with my visit. He did the same thing to me in Kanto." 

"He came to visit you already? Sounds like you guys are pretty serious for a long distance relationship. Those can be hard to do." Misty felt a little pride in her heart hearing that.

"I think we've worked out a good system for each other. I just can't wait to see his face when I get there. Thank you again for taking me in Duplica. You really saved me back there." Duplica shook her head and took another sip of her drink. 

"Not at all Misty. I was really happy to see you. I haven't been in Sinnoh for very long so I'm really happy to have friends over when I can." Well that made Misty feel better. If she was helping out Duplica just by being here then at least the generous girl was getting something out of it too. Misty took another drink of the very tasty lemonade Duplica had kindly provided. "So did you want to watch a movie or something?" Misty nearly spit out her drink at the suggestion, coughing it down. Duplica watched surprised at her reaction.

"Oh... um... well what kind of movie?" Misty felt a blush creep on her face again as she nervously asked that question and Duplica let out a sigh. 

"Well I guess you've already seen so I might as well admit it." Misty became wide eyed not really sure what that statement meant but knew it probably had something to do with the movies she'd just seen. "Misty do you know what I do for a living?" Misty actually stopped not expecting that question. She figured it must have been something important for her to afford a place like this but as far as she was aware Duplica only performed in her imitation act. 

"You're an... actress?" She asked just guessing really. It would make sense with her talents as well as explain how she could afford such a nice place. 

"Yes, in a sense." Duplica rose up from the bed and pulled a DVD off of the shelf. The color ran out of Misty's face as she wondered if she really was going to put one of the porno's on the television. Instead she just walked back over and handed the DVD to Misty. "Take a look at the title of this one." 

"My Darling Duplica?" Misty blinked in confusion. There was Duplica right on the front of the box, smiling cutely and looking as happy as could be. She noted it looked different than the other DVD's she had seen and it had a different production logo on it. "I don't get it, is it some kind of romantic comedyyyyy whoa!" Misty blushed flipping it over as it showed Duplica in much more revealing clothing than on the cover. Some shots with almost none on at all. "This isn't a romantic comedy." 

"No, it's not. It's an adult film. I'm an adult film actress." She said the words almost rehearsed, as if this was something she'd done more than once. "That's how I make my living now, with movies like these." Duplica sat down on the couch again and looked down at her glass. "Not everyone agrees with my decision so I'll understand if you don't either. I know not everybody would want to be associated with someone like that." Misty looked up to see her friend bracing herself for a rejection. Misty realized this was probably something she'd had happen plenty of times already. It was kind of shocking to find out of course but still Duplica was her friend.

"Hold on now, don't go jumping to conclusions." Misty said putting the DVD on the table and sitting closer to the green haired girl. "I mean it is a bit surprising to see I wont lie, but there's no way I'm going to act like I'm so high and mighty that I'll just walk out on you. Especially when you were so kind as to take me in." Misty smiled. "We're still friends right?" Duplica was wide eyed at Misty's acceptance of her and then smiled back with a nod. 

"Yeah! Yeah I'm still your friend. I'm happy to be your friend Misty." Duplica's spirits picked up again back to her normal self after going through the hard part of revealing what she did. "I'm sorry about that I've just... well not everyone is happy with the decisions I've made in life. I've lost some friends before I could even make them because of it." 

"Are you happy with them?" Misty asked genuinely curious and Duplica thought about it.

"Well it wasn't what I was expecting to do with myself years ago when I started my show. I mean we were all just kids back then so who thinks about stuff like that anyway?" She said cheerfully thinking about the past. "My imitation show went really well for a while but eventually it just started to lose interest from the public. Other people were out there catching Ditto's as well and the novelty of it wore off. So I turned to traditional acting." Duplica faced Misty fully now to go into the quick version of her past. 

"I never had any real teaching in acting so it was a hard sell to get me to be thought of for a role in a movie. I got some background roles and ones with a line or two but nothing ever very big. I came to realize the problem was I was trying to advertise myself as an actress after spending so long trying to be other people. It was difficult back then." 

"I'm sorry to hear." Misty said comfortingly and Duplica just smiled in return.

"Thank you, but things started to look up from there. Even though I wasn't doing well in auditions I met a photographer there that said I had a very unique look and wanted me for modeling. So I started modeling for magazines for department stores to show off various clothing. It wasn't a very glamorous job but it paid the bills well enough. Then someone suggest a different kind of modelling job." She motioned over to the DVD that Misty had been holding. Out of curiosity Misty picked it up again and looked it over.

"So they wanted you to do a strip tease in front of the camera?" Misty asked sounding like the idea would be way too embarrassing for her. Despite having sent pictures of herself to Volkner in the past.

"I didn't know what to think at the time but I really needed the money to get myself out of the rut I was in. So I took a job and made a movie, and surprisingly it was really popular. So I made another... and then another... and well..." Duplica got up off the couch and motioned along the shelf with her finger. "We ended up with about twelve My Darling Duplica's by the time I was done."

"That's a lot." Misty said wide eyed. "I mean I'm kind of impressed. You are a really pretty girl Duplica so I guess it's not so surprising that you'd get popular." Just like her sisters and Sabrina. It seemed Misty was surrounded by more beautiful women than herself all the time. No wonder she hung out with Brock all the time she thought with a depressed sigh. 

"You could barely tell it was me by the seventh one." Duplica said and Misty looked confused. So Duplica pulled out My Darling Duplica 7 and handed it over, which showed three different girls on the cover with radically different hair and outfits. "By that time they'd learned my talent for imitation and I started posing as different girls but still as myself. That's when I started getting really popular." Misty looked the DVD over and noticed there was really only ever her on the box it seemed. There was a question that was lingering in Misty's mind and she wasn't sure if she should ask it. Then again her friend was a porn star so maybe it wasn't all that weird. After a lot of debate she decided she was already in a room holding two porn DVD's in her hand. She might as well stop being shy about it.

"So it looks like these movies are only ever you in them. So does that mean that you um... you never..." 

"Had sex on camera?" Misty couldn't help but blush at the question, and just nodded in response. "I have actually. That was kind of difficult too at first. But it was always on my terms so in the end it was really my decision to do it. I don't have any regrets and it wasn't my first time with someone so at least I still have what's mine and special to me." Misty didn't know how to feel about that. She wasn't sure she could do such a thing herself but Duplica seemed confident in her choices in life. As long as her friend was satisfied with how it had turned out Misty supposed she shouldn't have a problem with it either. 

"Well okay then, as long as you're okay Duplica I guess there's no reason I should be such a prude about it." Misty said setting the DVD's down. "It seems to be paying well enough for you to live happily." 

"Well really all of this isn't from the films alone." Duplica said motioning to her apartment that she was still very proud of. "Though that is how I got my start. I actually own a production company." Well now that made a lot more sense to Misty as to how Duplica had managed to hit the big time with her money. "I make my own adult films now and I even produce a few for other girls too. It let me make my most successful films to date." Duplica eager to show off her past accomplishments now that she had a friend to talk to reached up and pulled out the Erica in Full Bloom DVD and showed it to Misty. This one Misty couldn't help but blush as she looked at it. 

"That's... kind of surprising that Erica would actually do a movie like this. You'd think I'd have heard of it." Shocking as it seemed there she was; her kimono barely covering her and looking innocent and meek.

"Misty, that's me." Misty blinked and looked between the cover of the DVD and her friend. She had to do it several times before she could see any of the faint differences between Erica's features and Duplica's. "I'm the one in that movie, I just dressed myself up as Erica for it." Misty couldn't believe it.

"You look exactly like her." She said flipping the DVD over and her jaw dropping to see that there was more than just Erica (or rather Duplica) in this DVD but other men and women too. Duplica giggled a little.

"Well that was the idea. I've basically made my most success by copying other famous trainers and portraying them in adult films. It's brought in a large amount of money and done really well in helping me keep my company and myself comfortable for a while now." Misty was still kind of shocked by all of this. Seeing her friend (not really her friend but another friend) in an adult film having sex on camera. She noted all the other DVD's and realized Duplica had done this many times. 

"Do they know about this?" Misty asked wondering if they'd taken legal action against Duplica for such a thing. 

"Of course, they signed the waiver allowing me to do it." Misty tried to wrap her head around the idea of someone proposing an adult film staring Erica to Erica and her just saying okay to that. "Every one of them got a payment for allowing me to use their image in the movie and signed off on it. We make sure to do it all legally but quietly so nothing publicly is stated and everyone maintains their image." 

"You really thought this through Duplica." Misty was impressed; Duplica had taken her talent of copying and made it into a very successful business. "I was a bit shocked to see all of this but now that I know about it I'm just sort of impressed. You're really intelligent." 

"I think I'm just lucky, but thank you." Duplica smiled shyly at the compliment. "Actually now that we're on the subject Misty I think I have a solution for your money troubles." Duplica turned to her friend with a bright smile. "How would you like to star in my next movie?" 

"...what?" 

**********

"The front door is locked." Violet called out to her sisters as he walked into the dueling area for battles. Lily was mopping up along the pool to pick up any access water and Daisy was cleaning up and putting all of the safety equipment away that was used in case anyone ever fell in. "We're totally done for the night."

"Like thank goodness. I just want to relax and watch some TV y'know." Lily said finishing up her mopping and wheeling the bucket over to the storage closet for cleaning supplies. "We should totally hire a janitor to do all this for us. It would be like so much easier." 

"But we did have a janitor once." Daisy said. "I think his name was Mr. Grabby Fingers?"

"That was just what Misty called him after he uh... got fired for having grabby fingers." Violet corrected. Misty had been pretty adamant about not allowing another person like that in the gym after hours despite her nearly killing the man when he took a grab at her butt. Her sisters couldn't argue and they hadn't looked for another one since. "It's not that difficult of work really." 

"Says you. I'm totally stuck with all of Misty's chores this week." Lily complained as the irony seemed to be lost on the girls that Misty was usually the one doing all of the hard work herself. "Oh yeah, like did Misty ever call us Violet?" 

"I don't think so. The phone hasn't rang all day. She should have landed by now right?" The girls asked each other and didn't seem to have any idea how long it would take to fly from there to Sinnoh anyway. "I hope she's okay."

"She's probably just having fun with her hunky boyfriend." Daisy said with a cheerful smile. "I'm sure she's okay. Besides now that we're taking over while she's out on vacation we get to try all sorts of new stuff. Did we do well on the photo shoot today?" 

"Like lets go take a look." Lily said with a smirk as the girls took the other exit from the dueling area that instead of leading to their house lead to the Cerulean Aquarium Gift Shop. There had been a special area set aside today for challengers to get a chance to take a photo with the gym leader. Thanks to Daisy and her ever so professional (and very revealing) swimsuit it had been a success. "I think we totally did more than enough to pay for the camera and the photo printer wouldn't you say?" Lilly opened the cash register to show all of the money they'd collected that day towards the gym and themselves. 

"This is wonderful." Violet said with a smile. "If this keeps up imagine all of the shopping we can do. It's like a photo shoot but totally easier."

"But like I didn't do so good with the challengers though." Daisy said sounding a bit down on herself. "I mean I gave out a lot of water badges."

"Don't worry about it." Lily said closing the register. "A lot of the guys that showed up already had water badges anyway. They were all totally here for the chance to see us again." She gave a wink and a smile over this fact of how successful their plan had been to bring in more money for the gym... and them of course.

"Misty wouldn't have lost so much though." Daisy said still sounding down on herself. "And she would have gotten some pictures too." 

"Actually a lot of boys asked if we were still going to do this when Misty got back." Violet commented. "It looks like our little sister is finally growing into a Sensational Sister as well." 

"Bet they'll be disappointed." Lily said now leading their walk back to the living quarters of the gym. "Even if Misty is finally getting older she's still such a tomboy. Something like posing for pictures isn't something I can see her doing."

"I bet she'll surprise you." Daisy said with a happy smile and her sisters looked at her curiously. "Our little Misty can do a lot of things good. She could do this too." 

"I'll believe it when I see it." Lily said still confident in her tone. "She gets so shy in front of a camera, like there's no way she could do something like pose for anyone." 

**********

"This is kind of embarrassing." Misty said as she stood uncomfortably in her swimsuit. Duplica was looking her over like someone inspecting a car for any sort of damages or leaks. She was wondering how exactly she'd talked her into this. 

"I don't see why you should be, you've got a great body." Duplica complimented as she inspected Misty all over. Misty had found herself in Duplica's bedroom which was very open and allowed her enough room to store most of her outfits and costumes while still having room to move around. She'd explained she'd gotten rid of some of them over the years but still retained quite a few. "You must work out a lot."

"I do a lot of swimming." Misty said still embarrassed and wondering how she got into this situation. The promise of a god chunk of money, in cash right away was kind of hard to pass up and would easily fund her for just about anything she wanted to do in Sinnoh.

"I can tell, you got some good stomach muscles too." Duplica's hands rested on Misty's stomach and if it wasn't for the fact she'd agreed to this up front she'd probably would have panicked and slapped it away. "We're about the same height so that makes things easier." Misty was still a little taller than Duplica was. "You're a little wider than me though." 

"W-wider?" Misty said looking over herself and wondering if she'd put on some weight somewhere. 

"Yeah, it's nothing to be upset about. Most girls are a little more than me, which is okay since it makes it easier for me to copy them. Wait here a second." Duplica ran towards her rack of clothing and Misty was still looking herself over to be sure that she wasn't putting on pounds anywhere they weren't welcome. "Okay, done." 

"Already?" Misty asked and looked up in surprise. There before her was another Misty. The hair, the eyes, even the swimsuit was perfect. "You did that so fast!" 

"I've gotten used to quick costume changes. Luckily you guys sell these swimsuits off your website so it was easy for me to get one back when I lived in Kanto. I haven't put it on in a long time though." Duplica posed next to Misty. "So what do you think? I bet it would drive your boyfriend wild to see us in the same room together wouldn't it?" Duplica giggled and it suddenly reminded Misty of that night she kissed Sabrina. Those thoughts were way too embarrassing to have right now though.

"I'd like to keep it to just one me with him if I could." Misty said trying to sound lighthearted. Secretly she felt a small victory as well seeing that indeed Misty was a little bit more filled out in certain areas than Duplica. 

"But wouldn't it be fun to go for a swim together with all three of us?" Duplica said sounding just like Misty, making the real girl jump.

"Whoa, you just copied my voice perfectly!" 

"I know right? I've been practicing at that too." Duplica said with a thumbs up. "Okay, lets take our suits off so I can compare us." 

"...what?" 

"I have to see what we look like naked." Duplica explained sounding completely serious. "It's part of the contract. For me to be able to copy you perfectly I have to see you naked too. Didn't you read it?" Misty blushed as she looked the other way. Matter of fact she only glanced over the thing, the promise of payment being all that was on her mind for a quick modeling job. "You're not uncomfortable around me are you? I mean I've seen lots of girls naked before." 

"No no I just... oh boy." Misty said as she took a breath and began to slip out of her swimsuit, taking it off and dropping it to the floor. Duplica did the same but she was a lot quicker about the process, standing naked before Misty without a care. Misty noticed that now she knew with all of Duplica's changes in appearance that the carpet matched the green drapes. 

"Nice muscle tone." Duplica said walking over to Misty completely casual. 

"Thanks..." Misty stood still as Duplica began to look her over again, closing her eyes as she repeated to herself that this was just for a modeling gig and that she didn't have to worry because it wasn't actually her that would be on camera. Just her friend posing exactly like her. Okay maybe that was actually a little weirder. Misty's train of thought broke though when she felt soft hands grab her breasts. "Hey! What's that for!?"

"Oh I was just seeing how they felt." Duplica said as she gave them a soft squeeze making Misty blush red. She then knelt down before her looking over her stomach and lap. "I'm glad you shave Misty. It's a pain trying to match girls down here sometimes." 

"Is that necessary?" Misty was losing her patience with this and felt now like a piece of meat being judged on it's flavor. She let out a surprised yelp when Duplica's hand fell on her ass. "IS THAT NECESSARY!?" 

"Oh sorry, but I just wanted to see how firm you were." Duplica said standing up and smiling. "Okay I think I've got a good idea now." Misty was holding back some of her anger over getting felt up by her friend. No matter how cute she was Misty wasn't really in the mood to get a rub down from another woman. 

"You know I don't really understand the point of this part." Misty said looking Duplica over. "No matter how well you can match my face your body will still always look like your body. Isn't this part kind of pointless?" Misty was starting to wonder if Duplica had just wanted to see her naked but her normally green haired friend just laughed it off. 

"Oh it's not pointless at all. I can match you perfectly if I want." Misty looked confused and Duplica walked over to her vanity desk, picking up a Pokeball. "Make Up, come on out." Duplica opened the Pokeball to reveal a Ditto. The purple little blob looked around the room and waved to Misty when it saw her. Misty waved back slowly. "This is Make Up, the secret to my success when it comes to imitation movies. Make Up, help me look more like Misty please." 

"Ditto!" The little Pokemon responded and suddenly threw itself onto Duplica's body. In a flash the jelly like creature disappeared and in its place there was a new torso on Duplica that matched Misty's body perfectly. Duplica posed again with a smirk.

"Well? What do you think? Pretty impressive huh?" Duplica said feeling her new figure. "Hmmm... Make Up give me slightly better abs. And make my butt firmer." The creature complied giving Duplica the figure she requested. Misty stared in complete disbelief at what she'd witnessed.

"That's incredible! I didn't know a Ditto could do something like that. I thought they could just copy Pokemon." Misty walked up to see her perfect copy. 

"Ditto's can copy anything really, they just need to practice at it. Make Up and I have been working together for a long time but we were finally able to perfect the process." Duplica put her hands behind her head and thrust her chest out. "Go ahead, give them a feel." Misty blushed at the invitation but did just out of sheer curiosity. She was shocked to find that Duplica's body actually felt like real human skin. "Just like the real thing isn't it?" 

"Yeah, I'll say." Misty said completely transfixed at the skill of Duplica's Pokemon. Duplica suddenly moved forward and spoke in a sensual tone with Misty's voice.

"Do you think Volkner would like the two of us now?" Misty felt the fake breasts press against her own and it was really strange how human it all felt. Her eyes widened and her voice stammered.

"Wha... what?" 

"Just teasing." Duplica stuck her tongue out and backed up again with a giggle. "It really is fantastic though. I can copy just about anybody I want aside from their height. In fact watch this." Duplica walked into her collection of hanging clothes. When she stepped out she was suddenly a slightly shorter Sabrina, complete with the much larger bosom and hips. "Tah dah!" 

"Jeez, you really do look like her." Misty said impressed.

"Yep, in every way too." Duplica lifted her shirt with a giggle to show off the new knockers that Make Up had given her. "Thanks to Make Up I can pass for just about anyone. Regardless of their body type." Misty blushed and looked away from that. Seeing her friend suddenly appear while she was naked was one thing, seeing her show off her breasts was something else altogether and it made Misty feel flustered. "I can even copy guys, kind of. Check this out." Duplica disappeared into the rack of clothing again and when she popped out it was a surprise.

"Volkner?" Duplica had managed to copy Misty's boyfriend almost perfect (minus the height and more feminine face). The ditto had flattened out her chest and made her more broad in the shoulders to resemble a male. Duplica approached Misty and she felt herself getting warm at the sight of Volkner before her. She covered herself nervously as he came closer and closer. He reached out and took Misty's hand, making her give out a cute but nervous squeak. Then he leaned forward and said...

"You look really beautiful Misty." There was silence for a moment before she responded.

"... you're terrible at copying a man's voice, Duplica." 

"I'm better at copying other parts of a man, want to see?" Duplica offered with a smile and a wink and things just got a little too out of hand for Misty to handle. 

"Okay that's enough!" Misty protested and Duplica giggled in her voice. 

"You're really cute when you're embarrassed Misty. I don't know if I could copy that part of you." Duplica walked through the collection of clothing again and she came out in a pair of panties and a T-shirt that had her company logo on it of Darling Ditto. "Want some clothes to sleep in?" Duplica reached into the clothing rack and pulled out shorts and a T-shirt for Misty as well. After her moment of excitement seeing Volkner (even a fake one) she was happy to have something to cover up with. 

"Thanks Duplica. You don't have to tease me so much though." Misty said and she suddenly got a hug from her friend. 

"Sorry, I get carried away sometimes. Anyway should we get ready for bed? I bet you had a long day already." 

"Yeah, sleep does sound pretty good right about now." Misty said stretching out. "So should I just get a blanket for the couch or what?" 

"We can just share my bed." Duplica said crawling into it and pulling back the covers. "It's big enough for two people easy, and we're not that big to begin with." Duplica crawled under the covers. Misty thought to protest but she didn't really see the point. She'd just spent the past twenty minutes showing her body off to this girl and Duplica had done the same (as well as a few other bodies). Sleeping in the same bed was pretty tame in comparison to everything else so far. "Thanks again for the help Make Up, time for bed though." Duplica held up the Pokeball and called her Ditto back, setting it on the counter near by her other ones near her bed.

Misty crawled in on her side and found the bed was really comfy. Once she was on the mattress she was glad she had chosen this over the couch. "What time did you want to wake up?" Duplica asked setting the alarm. 

"I guess seven? I should at least call my sisters to let them know what happened and that I made it safely." Misty yawned and got snugly under the covers. Duplica had really good taste when it came to choosing furniture. Between this and the couch she felt like her apartment was one soft spot of comfy. 

Then again considering her profession maybe having comfortable spots for people to lay down was the idea? 

"Night Misty. Sweet dreams." Duplica said resting onto her own side of the bed. Misty let out a held breath. She was acting crazy. Sure Duplica had felt her up earlier but she made it clear it was all for business so she could do her job better. A job involving her looking just like Misty and getting naked on camera... Maybe she should have thought about this more before she agreed to it.

**********

Misty's sleep had come fairly quickly. The stress of the day and the plane ride combined with Duplica's very comfortable bed was a perfect formula to knock the red head right out. Soon the room had grown dark and Misty had found herself instead on a beach. The sun high above her and clear blue water splashing up along the sandy shores. It was a perfect place actually, so much so that she didn't mind that she could run along the shores completely naked as she'd found herself in this dream without a single other person around her. She felt free. 

Or so she did for a little while. Soon other people were walking along the beach as well but in her dream Misty didn't seem to mind it. There were men and women walking about and even Pokemon. Some of them wear wearing swimming outfits and others were in regular clothes like they had wandered onto the beach of the street. Others like her were completely naked as well and no one seemed to find it odd or out of the ordinary. Misty leaned back and she was on a beach chair looking over the waves and the ocean. She felt in charge and great and powerful. Suddenly people were looking at her as they passed but they didn't ogle her body or stare. Rather they seemed to admire her and Misty soaked up the attention like the suns rays. It vitalized her being admired, gave her energy. Made her feel sexy and strong. 

Misty rose from the beach chair looking at the water; she wanted to swim. Running out along the beach into the water Misty dove in and it was suddenly impossibly deep but she didn't mind. Instead swimming through the waters at a commanding pace. Other Pokemon swam around her in the ocean and they all seemed to dance together. When she came up to surface she found herself standing near the shore as if the water had never been that deep at all. 

As she looked at the beach the people continued to walk by, but in front of her was suddenly Duplica. She was in a purple swimsuit with a Ditto's face on it and a tiara on her head. Misty went to ask what she was doing here but she shushed her and instead put the tiara on Misty's head and dove into the water to swim away. When Misty tried to follow she was suddenly grabbed be strong arms. Looking over her shoulder she saw his blonde hair and blue eyes. 

Volkner held her there in the water. He was fully clothed unlike her but his arms were strong and comforting as they held her. Misty leaned back into his grip and let out an excited exhale. He didn't disappoint as his hands rose to her breasts and began to rub them. His fingers massaging her breasts and nipples playfully, lifting them up and stroking underneath then rubbing out to the tips. His thumbs and fingers pulling at them as if to milk them and it made Misty warmer as she knew people were watching from the beach but she didn't care. 

One of Volkner's hands dipped down below her waist and touched her pussy. The feeling was amazing right away and Misty spread her legs to allow him further access. He began to kiss her ear as his hands very softly rubbed along her sex and teased at her breast. She was so wet already and his fingers just pulled her further towards an impending orgasm. She wanted it to happen and she wanted everyone there to see it and admire her for it. When his fingers teased to push inside and rubbed her clit Misty's body clenched and shook a she came hard from her climax, feeling all that build up released and shake her through her whole body. 

Gasping for air and breathing deeply Misty tried to concentrate on what to do next but she felt the hands on her body leave. The wind from the beach faded as did the waves at her legs. Her head was on a pillow and she was in a bed, not at the ocean. Her eyes adjusted to the dark and she groaned a little realizing that she had not actually been at the beach at all but instead was still in Duplica's bed and had been sleeping there since earlier. Misty sighed that the wonderful dream had passed so quickly and got ready to roll her body over to adjust herself when she felt the dampness between her legs. "... oh no." 

Spreading her legs apart a bit Misty reached down to feel her pussy was wet and aroused as if she'd been playing with herself. Feeling how sensitive it still was she came to the realization that apparently everything that had happened in that dream wasn't all fake. Slowly turning her head she saw a sleeping Duplica on the opposite side of the bed near by and let out a sigh. At least she hadn't woken her friend up. Even if Duplica was a porn star doing this sort of thing in her friend's bed was completely embarrassing and a little rude. 

Misty very carefully got out of bed and made sure she didn't wake Duplica as she did. Once she was out Misty tip toed her way towards the bathroom. Hopefully she could just clean herself up and avoid humiliating herself any further. 

As Misty retreated away and closed the door to the bathroom, Duplica's eyes opened slowly and looked at the light coming from out of the bottom of the door. She smiled a little to herself and pulled her hand out from under the sheets, looking at the wet coating on her fingers. "Sorry Misty, I couldn't help myself." She whispered and licked her fingers clean. "Volkner is a really lucky guy, I hope he makes you happy. Hope that helps you sleep with some even better dreams too." Duplica snuggled back into bed and awaited her sexy friend to settle back in so they could both sleep soundly for the next day. 

Duplica quietly thanked Misty in the dark after the red head had fallen asleep again. Misty had made this one of the happiest days Duplica had enjoyed since she came to Sinnoh.


	10. Journey's Beginning

"Well it's about time, where have you been?" The voice rattled over the phone to Misty as the girl sighed. "Violet's been like worried sick over you." Misty could hear Violet call out in protest to Lily's statement and it got her to smile.

"I'm sorry, really I am. It's just a lot has happened since I left the airport." She did feel a little guilty not checking in with her sisters right away after she'd landed. But she'd been swept up in so many things happening with her flight to Sunyshore being cancelled, Duplica taking her in and Misty's unusual manner of earning her extra spending money. Her mind was just taxed beyond her normal thinking. "I'm doing okay though." 

"Like at least that's good to hear. So did you like run off with your boyfriend as soon as you landed or whatever?" Lily was always the worst when it came to teasing Misty. Previously it had been about how she was no where near as pretty as her sisters to be able to land a boy. Now that she was in a relationship she loved to pick on her for that. The pink haired girl was never satisfied. 

"Actually I never made it to Sunyshore..." Misty sighed and recited the series of events that lead to her becoming stranded in Jubilife city and taking refuge with her friend Duplica. Not to mention Janine's unexpected appearance on the plane. Lily listened carefully as her sister shared her story. Though Misty did make it a point not to mention the nude modeling she had done for Duplica to earn her extra travel expenses. 

"Wow Misty, you're like totally bad luck." Misty could only groan in response. "But cheer up, you managed to run into a friend so like you can totally free load off of her until your flight leaves." 

"You make it sound so crass, Lily." Misty was grateful to her older sister for having made this vacation of hers possible but Lily could wear her down terribly. "She invited me to stay over, though I'm going to try and get out to Sunyshore as soon as I'm able. That storm can't last forever."

"Just like don't do anything reckless, alright? Everyone's asking about you and why you're gone." That kind of surprised her. Misty was better known as the gym leader than her sisters but they never said anything about her when she wasn't around. She wondered if it had to do with her relationship with Volkner becoming public knowledge... or it could be...

"Say, you said Daisy was doing some kind of photo shoot thing for all three of you? No one's asking about me and that are they?" She'd already been subjected to being a decoration for one person, and this was a girl she knew as a personal friend. She wasn't so sure about a group of strangers doing the same thing to her. Even if it was supposedly to bring in more money for the gym.

"Maybe." Misty grunted in annoyance and Lily laughed at her reaction. "Well you just kinda left all out of the blue and junk. After like a week vacation with your boyfriend here in town. If this were in a tabloid like everyone would be all over you." Lily may have been right in that Misty didn't really ever think one way or the other about what people were saying about her. Or what their opinions were of her personal business. "Though Daisy did buy you a swimsuit." Oh. Well... considering Daisy's taste in swimsuits Misty had to ask.

"How bad is it?" She didn't think it wouldn't look pretty. She just wondered how much fabric would actually be covering her.

"Well it covers more than her current one." Lily said trying to be reassuring. "Like you better not jump around too much in it though." Misty sighed. She'd have to wear it at least once. Daisy could act a bit ditzy at times but when she got someone a gift out of the kindness of her heart there was no way to turn down her innocent hopefulness. 

"I'll keep that in mind." Misty said a bit regretfully. "Well I don't want to run up too much of a bill on Duplica's phone so I better get going. I'll be sure to let you guys know when I make it to Sunyshore." 

"Sure thing! Say like what does this friend of yours do anyway that she could totally support your poor butt?" Misty felt her heart skip a beat for a moment when Lily asked that question. What exactly should she say? She wasn't ashamed of Duplica's profession but... well... it wasn't the kind of thing you just talked about. 

"She um... well she..." Better respond fast or Lily was going to get suspicious. Just make up anything. "She's an actress." 

"Really? Wow Misty, you got some cool friends. She totally done a lot of movies?" Oh... yeah you could say that. 

"She's done a few here and there to keep herself well off. Probably nothing you've seen." Misty tried to discourage Lily's curiosity as best she could. 

"No prob, I'll totally look her up online tonight. Well I better get going too, later little sis." 

"Wait Lily! You don't need to do that! Hello? Hello!?" Misty grumbled and hung up the phone. Well that was going to be a conversation later she had wanted to avoid. Misty sighed and shrugged, what did it matter anyway? Duplica was a good friend of hers, porn star or not. She'd just reassure them everything was fine and hopefully sate Lily's curiosity before she found out about the deal she'd arranged with Duplica last night. Misty was about to get up from the seat next to the phone when it suddenly rang. Despite the fact it wasn't her house force of habit made her hand reach for the receiver and pick it up right away. "Hello?" After the words had left her lips she gulped, realizing she was suddenly answering Duplica's phone. She just hoped whoever was on the other end wouldn't be too confused hearing a different woman's voice answering.

"So I did get the number right. I was afraid I'd be off but it looks like I predicted it well enough." The soft spoken, controlled voice was surprisingly not one of Duplica's associates but one of Misty's own.

"Sabrina? What the... how'd you find me!? I didn't even know I'd be spending the night here." Misty sat there in shock after hearing her friend's voice. Sure the woman was a psychic and a good one at that but her timing was spectacular this occasion.

"It wasn't easy." Sabrina said sounding a little embarrassed in her tone. "Sorry to intrude but... well I saw the weather report for Sunyshore and I got worried so I tried to see how you were doing. When I figured out the plane didn't make it to Volkner's city I got worried and tried to find you." Awww, Sabrina was such a sweet heart! Yeah it was a little creepy knowing that she could locate Misty any time or place she wanted but the fact she was using it to keep tabs and make sure her friend stayed safe made Misty feel warm inside.

"Well... thank you Sabrina. I guess I don't have much to worry about with a guardian angel like you looking over me."

"Don't rely on me too much..." Sabrina said trailing off a little. "I wont be there to look out for you if something goes wrong." Misty sighed a little but tried not to make it too audible. Sabrina was still paranoid over her prediction the week before it seemed. 

"You don't have to fret over me, I promised I'd take care of myself right?" Misty didn't get a verbal confirmation from the psychic but she wasn't going to let it rest there. "This was just a minor setback. Even you couldn't have seen this coming. So there's no reason to get all stressed out over nothing. I'll be fine." 

"Well... okay Misty." Sabrina finally relented and Misty relaxed herself. "You know I trust you, I'm just worried. Understandably."

"Hey I'm healthy as can be so there's no reason for alarm. Heck I even ran into Janine on the way down here on the plane. How's that for a pleasant surprise?" Sabrina let out a little surprised "oh" at the news and Misty giggled. It was fun to have news for a psychic. 

"I didn't even know she had left. It must have been sudden. Did she say why she was going to Sinnoh of all places?" Misty wasn't sure how much to say on this one. Sure Janine knew them both pretty well but it seemed like the situation was a personal one for her. 

"I guess it has something to do with that ninja training of hers and her father. She didn't really seem to know herself, but when she got off the plane she was in high spirits at least. Took right off into the country side shortly after we landed." 

"Oh, so you're not staying in a room together? Where did you end up?" At that question the cover picture for the "Sabrina's Mental Connection" DVD ran through Misty's mind and she wondered if there was a way to get out of this without bringing up their mutual acquaintance.

"Uh... well... I met a friend I haven't seen in a very long time." Sadly that was about all she had. It didn't do much to deter Sabrina though.

"That is quite a stroke of good luck. Is it someone I know?" Oooh boy. Misty gulped a little and decided to bite the bullet.

"Maybe, not sure if you ever met her when she lived in Kanto. She's a real sweet girl that's a bit younger than me." Deep breath now. "Her name's Duplica." 

"...oh." There was a long and awkward pause and it didn't take a mind reader to know what was going through Sabrina's mind. "I see. I didn't realize you knew her." 

"Oh yeah, from back when we were kids and I was traveling around. It was a real treat to catch up with her." Another long and awkward pause. "So yeah... I was really lucky." Misty tried to move the subject on if she could. 

"Yes, you were. I suppose I shouldn't make too large of a phone bill for her then." 

"Right! Right, we don't want to rack up those minutes." 

"Yeah." Misty was about done with the long pauses and was getting ready to end the conversation when her friend suddenly spoke up. "Misty, did she happen to... no never mind. Sorry I just..." The situation was falling apart fast and Misty decided to play recovery before she just left the conversation like this.

"Well we did talk about her work." Misty suddenly interjected. "I mean Duplica has a really nice apartment and furniture so I was curious. Beats a gym leader's salary any day." She laughed nervously but Sabrina was as quiet as the grave. "It's been a nice stop all things considered. I was really happy to see her again and catch up... and learn about what she's been doing with herself. I'm glad it's helped her so much and anyone else that it's helped too." It was probably the most indirect way to say "it's okay I saw sort-of porn of you" that she could muster but she hoped it got the message across. "If you ever want to give her a call I'd suggest it, she's really nice. I think you could be friends." 

"I think so too." Sabrina said suddenly sounding reassured in her voice. A sound that relieved Misty greatly. "I'll talk to you again soon I hope. Thank you Misty." 

"Glad to talk to you Sabrina. Um... you're welcome." It didn't need to be stated out loud but the acknowledgement of acceptance between friends was always a great thing to receive. It wasn't like Misty had a high horse to stand on anyway, she'd be joining their ranks soon enough. With fond farewells the women ended their conversation and Misty leaned back, sighing out loud. She could only hope the conversation with Lily would go that easy when the time came.

Getting to her feet Misty walked out of Duplica's bedroom and into the apartment's kitchen where the green haired girl had laid out some really tasty looking bagels and a few different creamy spreads for each. There was even a bowl of strawberries and grapes to pick at and the red head smiled brightly at the sight of the breakfast. "This looks delicious!" 

"Do you like it? It's not very much but I didn't know what you enjoyed and what you didn't. I can make some eggs or something if you want." Duplica was pouring juice for each of them and moving around her kitchen confidently. Misty was impressed; she was never much for cooking herself so even a simple arrangement like this made her happy to be a part of. 

"It's just perfect Duplica. I guess I should be pretty thankful to you. After picking me up off the street, keeping me in bed all night with you now you're making me breakfast in the morning. I can only hope you don't do this with all the girls you find wandering Jubilife City in the middle of the night." Misty giggled at her little joke but she noticed that Duplica wasn't joining in right away. In fact she seemed a little embarrassed at the suggestion. She looked away from Misty before laughing along as well.

"Well I don't pick up just any girl off the street. Just the really beautiful ones." Duplica still wasn't making eye contact and she took this moment to walk away from the table and to the fridge, hiding her head inside it. "Jam?" She held up a jar over the fridge door for Misty to see, the red head politely declining and it disappearing back into the fridge. After a moment of the sound of things just being moved around Duplica's head popped out again and she joined Misty at the table. "You don't wait on me, dig right in."

"Happy to do so." Misty said glad that the weird moment of tension was gone now. Seriously this morning was all awkward pauses and strange comments left and right. She was just hoping to get herself back on track in heading to Sunyshore and seeing Volkner again. Come to think of it maybe she should call him? Even if she had intended to surprise him with the visit she was in a strange situation and right in his home region. Though if she could hold out on that and spring it on him she would. 

"Say Misty, I've been thinking about something." Duplica said having dressed up a bagel for herself to eat while Misty had been lost in thought. "That storm over Sunyshore is going to be there for at least another day. So you probably wont be able to fly out until tomorrow at the earliest sometime." 

"That's true, isn't it." Misty said a little depressed but still munching away at her breakfast without hesitation. "This freaky weather has really put a wrench in my plans. Second time in Sinnoh and I'm still stuck in one place." 

"Actually that's what I was going to talk about." Duplica mentioned and Misty suddenly felt guilty of how freely she was eating up all of Duplica's food. Was she imposing on her? Misty had only meant to stay the night but now it looked like she was held up for another day.

"Oh um if I'm in the way I can try to find a hotel or something. I don't want to be a bother." Misty said trying to hide her guilt and Duplica just smiled and shook her head.

"If I had it my way Misty I'd be glad to have you visiting me for the week." There was an affectionate tone to her voice that Misty wasn't sure how to read. Though she might have been just letting her imagination run wild now that she knew what Duplica's job was. "But staying here might get awkward as I have... work stuff to do." 

"Oh... well um... yeah I guess that would huh?" Misty felt her cheeks blush a little in embarrassment over the idea of it. Though once again maybe it was actual business stuff and not... well all of that other stuff! Duplica was a film producer too after all. Even if they were of a direct to DVD variety with a specific audience. 

"So I thought about this: Volkner still has no idea you're in Sinnoh. You've never had a chance to see the region and you've got some extra pocket money now. How about taking a tour of Sinnoh while you're here?" That wasn't exactly what Misty was expecting to hear from the pretty woman but it was an interesting idea. 

"You mean like a Pokemon journey?" Going on the road as a trainer?" Sure people of all ages did it but it was rare to see a grown woman on such a trek. "I'm not really all that interested in taking on the league." Duplica giggled at the suggestion.

"No nothing like that, though as a gym leader yourself I bet you could make a few of them run for their money. Instead I was thinking why not use my bike and travel there along the road? It shouldn't take you that long to get there and you can stay in motels along the way." This was a pretty radical idea that Duplica had for her. But it kind of made sense, didn't it? It would be fun to see the other towns of Volkner's home region. Not to mention she was in pretty good shape and could make a lot of time on a bike. It beat wasting time in Duplica's apartment while she was busy or just walking around the city waiting for her plane to let her leave. "I even have a backpack you can use instead of that duffel bag of yours. You can feel free to pick it up before you head back home if you want. Or I'll just mail it to you, either way is fine." 

"Well... that's really generous of you Duplica. I mean this all sounds like a lot of fun. I almost feel bad that you're giving me all of this and I'd be leaving you behind." Duplica's smile was a complicated one to read. Maybe that came from her practicing to look like other people all her life. There was this mix of happiness and sadness and even some hesitation. The red head didn't know what to think of it. 

"It's the least I could do. Really it's a good thing for me too since I'd get to see you again and maybe even get to meet your boyfriend before you have to go back. So there's a bit of selfishness in this even if just for us to hang out again." Misty started to wonder just how much of Duplica's life was devoted to her work and how much allowed her to spend time with friends. The red head got out of her chair and walked around the table, giving Duplica a hug. The green haired girl was surprised a first but soon returned it.

"You better believe we'll hang out again. Now that I've found one of my friends again there's no way I'm going to let you disappear on me. Even if you can blend into a crowd better than anyone I know." Duplica hugged her a little tighter and made a happy noise as they embraced. 

"Thank you Misty. You're really something special." 

"Oh... not really. I'm just me." She said feeling awkward at all the praise she was getting lately. "Well shall we take a look a that bike of yours?" 

**********

The gym's battle arena sparked with psychic energy as the two trainers and their Pokemon faced each other in combat. The figures stood still without movement, commands given with their minds and attacks dealt out in the form of psychic power. The Kadabra was putting up quite a fight but there had been hesitation in its expression from the beginning. Its opponent the Alakazam was clearly the stronger of the two and it made it apparent as a particularly strong shot of psychic force knocked the other Pokemon off its feet. His trainer ran to his Pokemon's side to check on him as the gym leader raised her hand.

"Point and match for Alakazam." Sabrina announced as the other trainer retrieved his Pokemon back into its Pokeball. "You did well this time, Franklin. It seems you and your Kadabra have been training hard. Alakazam usually doesn't have to put up that much of a fight for a victory." The boy looked at his ball and sighed. 

"Yeah... but I'm not sure if we'll ever catch up to you Miss Sabrina. You're still the most amazing trainer I've ever seen." Franklin said sounding disappointed. He'd been coming to the gym as a Saffron City local for years now but he'd always held the rank of just one of Sabrina's students in both the psychic arts and Pokemon training. "You're practically untouchable." 

"I'm not so out of reach. After all if that were true no one would ever get a Marsh Badge." It was true that if your gym leader was too powerful you'd never be able to advance. Though training multiple Pokemon was very hard it just took that kind of dedication to be a master. Sabrina respected anyone that was clever and determined enough to come to her gym and win a badge with that special assortment. "Just keep at it and one day you'll have a badge of your own." 

"Right! Never give up!" The young man said saluting his senior. "Well thank you for the match Miss Sabrina. Was there anything you needed done around the gym? I have the time. I could sweep the floors or sort your mail or clean the counters or-" Sabrina shook her head and waved a hand encouraging him to stop.

"No no, that's okay. Really we're doing just fine today. All the chores have been done." Despite her discouragement the young man still seemed eager to please the gym leader any way he could. She sighed seeing the hopeful look in his eyes. "Well... I do need to excuse myself from the gym floor. If any challengers come by can you fetch me for them?" 

"Of course Miss Sabrina!" The boy saluted again with far more enthusiasm that Sabrina was comfortable with. "Though are you feeling well? Is it another one of your head aches? If you like I could get you some aspirin or a hot towel or maybe sing you to sleep or-"

"No, I just need to make a phone call pretty soon. Exactly in a few minutes actually. If you like in the mean time you can use the practice or meditation room while no one's around." The boy gave another excited salute to her and agreed with her wholeheartedly, looking for any situation where he can improve his skills. As he walked out the door Sabrina sighed and shook her head. "What to do about that one?" 

Franklin was an eager boy, dedicated to his Pokemon training and unfortunately even more dedicated to Saffron's gym leader. It didn't take a mind reader to see he was infatuated with Sabrina. His devotion would be nice but she was always afraid she might be taking advantage of him in some way with how often he threw himself at her beck and call. Besides the two of them would never work out in a million years. Thank the stars he wasn't good enough to read minds himself to see her thoughts and get crushed from the rejection. 

Relationships... those seemed to be a popular topic as of late. Sabrina of course had her own demons to deal with when it came to relationships. But there was also the desires of others. It could be overwhelming knowing exactly what another person wanted from you, even when you didn't want to know it. She'd try to shut it out but so many times those thoughts would creep in. Thoughts of admiration, lust, envy and greed. Even just genuinely honest complimentary thoughts towards her that didn't tie to any kind of selfish feeling. These also filled her with a heavy weight of expectation. As if she had some image she was supposed to be living up to. It all weighed on her as she retreated to her bedroom and laid upon her bed with a sigh. 

Now there was also the stress of Misty knowing about that stupid movie that Sabrina had allowed her image to be used for. What had she been thinking? At the time it seemed almost fun, even a little rebellious. The normally straight laced and quiet Sabrina lending her image to a porno. Of course Duplica had promised never to speak of their actual meeting and agreement to it, all the payments had been under the table to keep up Sabrina's image. Even Ericka had done this so it didn't seem so odd that Sabrina try it. Though showing herself off to Duplica had been a bit embarrassing. The interview for her to learn how to copy her look was a lot more "touchy-feely" than she had anticipated.

Duplica was kind and honest enough though, so it didn't worry Sabrina that Misty had been friends with Duplica since they were kids. Though it was a bit of a shock to learn as Duplica seemed a bit forward when it came to her own personal desires. Sabrina was able to tell right away that Duplica had liked her at first sight. Though she suspected it was just a physical attraction. Sabrina had almost taken her up on those lusty thoughts in the past. However her own embarrassment kept her from acting too rashly on such kinds of affairs. Whether or not Duplica wanted to admit it to herself both girls had some things in common in this regard. They both had an attraction to other women, were plagued by their own feelings of physical desire for others and were terrible at keeping a stable relationship that felt worthwhile. Maybe she should reach out to the girl again? There was a possibility the two of them could be friends like Misty had suggested. Just friends, nothing more. She could use more of those.

It would have to wait for another time though. The clock hit seventeen minutes after the hour and Sabrina knew now was the time to make her move. Sitting up on her bed she picked up her phone and dialed a number from a memory she didn't really ever have but had come to her in meditation. Being able to see the future could be confusing like that at times. After letting it ring three times the receiver picked up and she heard the male voice she'd been expecting.

"Viridian City Gym." Sabrina smiled at hearing the expected voice. 

"Just who I was looking for. Do you have time for a date?"

**********

"So if you look at the map here, you can take route 206 all the way across to Oreburgh City. If you want there's a special bike path going north up to Eterna City as well. It should be an easy ride for you right?" Duplica explained as they looked over the map. The sky had clouds on the far horizon but in Jubilife City things were still sunny at least. Misty was hoping it would last all the way until she reached a motel to stay in. She'd had concerns over finding a place but Duplica felt confident that not every town in Sinnoh was as pricey with their room rates as her town was. 

"Yeah, I think I can manage it." Misty said as she adjusted her foot on the peddle. Duplica's bike hadn't seen a lot of use so it was in fine condition. A mountain bike that would allow her to ride easy on dirt or pavement. "Are you really sure it's okay I take this though?" 

"Misty, I insisted didn't I?" Well yes Duplica had been very thorough in her argument that Misty take this little adventure. "Besides I haven't touched it in forever. I'm happier that it's with someone that will be able to make better use of it than me." 

"Thank you again for everything Duplica. I would probably be tied up in a tree somewhere right now if it wasn't for you." Duplica raised a confused eyebrow at that statement and Misty just realized how crazy it sounded. "Um... long story. Be glad to tell you about it when I see you again." 

"I'll hold you to that." Duplica gave her one big hug again and back up. "Be safe Misty. Just cause you're a gym leader doesn't mean that you're invincible." 

"You're starting to sound like my one friend from before I came to Sinnoh." Misty got up on the bike and took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm off! See you later Duplica, I'll miss you."

"Miss you too." Duplica said with a smile as she slowly waved to Misty, the red head riding off east into the heart of Sinnoh. It took Misty a little bit to get the feel for Duplica's bike down, but once she did she was riding with ease. Her borrowed backpack held tight by the straps on her shoulders and a smile on her face. 

"This is going to be great!" Misty said in excitement, getting a few glances as she rode by but she didn't care. There was a day full of possibilities before her. Nothing could stop her! 

**********

Two hours later a rather disgruntled Misty was pushing her bike out of a cave that lead into Oreburgh city. The bright smile on her face was replaced with a grimace as her Staryu floated behind her the whole way. "Who in the world decided a cave was a good thing to have between towns!?" 

The start of the ride had actually been great. The air was fresh and with the storm in the far east there was a nice wind blowing that wasn't too strong. Misty had passed several people along the trail, some looking for a trainer to battle but she politely declined them all. While it might have been fun to battle a few people she didn't really want to get caught up in anything that would delay her trip. Especially if it got her Pokemon injured and she had to find a PokeCenter to help them. So with dedication she pushed on along the trail, up the hills and through the grass. She'd made some pretty good time up until she came to the entrance of the before mentioned cave.

At first she had been confused. Was there really a cave between the Oreburgh and Jubilife? It seemed like such an inconvenient obstacle. They didn't have to demolish it but some kind of road around it or a bridge or something would have been nice for every day travelers. But no, things were exactly as they appeared. She even confirmed it with one of the nearby locals. If you wanted to get to Oreburgh you had to go through here. 

Misty had pondered turning back. She wasn't really scared of the dark or the Pokemon inside, but stumbling around a pitch black cave and fighting off wild Pokemon wasn't her idea of fun. But going off her set route, especially without a map would be dangerous. Plus she'd look like a total idiot in front of Duplica if she returned with her tail between her legs. So the red head pushed herself forward and entered the dark. 

A Zubat flew right into her face within the first minute of going inside.

From there it just went downhill and it wasn't long before she was calling on her Pokemon to deal with the annoyances coming her way. Once Misty had navigated the cave and come out the other side she hadn't been sure how much time she lost but it was enough. She was cranky, tired and dirty now and could still taste flying Zubat on her lips. She wanted a shower. 

"Thank you Staryu, you were a real help back there." Raising her Pokeball Misty recalled the Staryu to its home and set the ball back onto her belt. She'd have to find a PokeCenter to let Staryu recover a bit. Maybe even let everyone else out to stretch their muscles and buy them some food. As Misty walked farther into the town she was surprised to see the rough and dirty surface didn't give way to a road at all. The whole town just seemed to be exposed dirt leading all the way up to businesses and people's houses. "How rustic." It was kind of an unusual sight in comparison to Jubilife City. In fact just glancing at the town she felt like it was giving her a reason to understand why they wouldn't mind having something like a cave between them and another town. 

The street ahead of her seemed like a dead end so Misty turned off to the side path, still just pushing her bike along. She didn't feel comfortable zooming past the other residents when she didn't know the lay out and culture of the town yet. She wanted to ask someone where the PokeCenter might be but everyone looked too busy to bother. The majority of the residents appeared to be miners, all covered in dirt and wearing jump suits and hard hats. It was actually a little intimidating to be around all the tough and gritty workers. Made all the more so when as she walked she started to come across one of them arguing with someone. 

"You're just over-reacting. Again. I've checked it out and there's nothing wrong." One of them was dressed in a outfit similar to the other miners, complete with hard hat and some tough looking glasses. However his outfit was a two piece pants and jacket as opposed to a full jumpsuit. Also he looked kind of familiar. 

"All you've done is look it over and saw what you wanted to see. You're putting everyone at risk with your stubbornness!" The other person was a big and strong looking older man and while he seemed to be as familiar with digging through the dirt as the miner he had a totally different appearance about him. He had the same workman's pants but instead of a jumpsuit or a jacket he wore what could only be described as a cape. Oddly he looked kind of familiar too. 

"Oh now that's a laugh." The miner in the glasses said turning to face the other with their argument escalating. "I'm stubborn? You're the most stubborn person I've ever met. Just admit that you don't think I can handle it and you've wanted to take over again since you got back. All you ever seem to do is doubt me when it comes to my work." 

"You're not listening to me at all!" The older man was getting even louder now, Misty noticing that his voice was rather booming. "I've never wanted to see you fail. I'm trying to help make sure the exact opposite of that happens!" Misty felt like she'd seen enough of the spectacle before her and decided she didn't want any part of it. Pushing her bike along she tried to pass by them undetected like the rest of crowd walking the streets. 

"That's what you say but your actions are completely obvious. This is my dig site and I can do... say." The miner in the glasses suddenly stopped as he spotted Misty, which was just about the last thing she wanted. Before she could do anything to escape he was approaching her, totally blowing off the other person he'd been arguing with so passionately before. "Why hello there miss, I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting you before. Are you new to our fair city?" She sighed, there was no escaping them now. 

"Well um... yes actually. I was just looking for the PokeCenter to get my Pokemon treated." She tried to steer the direction of the unwanted conversation away from hanging around here and going someplace else. Who knew when they'd start shouting at each other again. "Do you know where that is?" 

"Do I? Why I can take you there myself if you like. No sense letting a beautiful woman walk all alone through a new town, is there?" The older man behind him scoffed loudly and shook his head. 

"You never could take a hint, could you Roarke?" The man in the cape commented and the miner name Roarke didn't seem at all pleased with his remark. "This is what I meant by seeing only what you want to see." 

"Listen dad, I don't think my city's new guest needs to hear you ramble on like an old coot. Especially if it's a trainer since we all know why she's here." We do? Misty had no idea what they thought she was here for. She barely knew herself other than this was supposed to be a quick stop on a much longer trip. "We'll want to be sure you're at top shape before you try for your Coal Badge, Miss... I'm sorry what was your name? I'm Roarke by the way." 

"Misty... and I'm not actually here for a badge, just passing through." Misty tried to make her intentions as clear as day for this guy as he was getting a bit too close for her. Though after she said her name his expression changed entirely looking at her. 

"Wait a second." Roarke said examining her. "Red hair, a little short, swimmer's body..." Misty felt her anger flare up for a hot second when he started to examine her figure. "Are you the Water-Type gym leader from Kanto?" 

"Yeah? Is that a problem?" Misty asked nervously now. She didn't think anyone would recognize her in Sinnoh after Duplica had but here this wannabe playboy had spotted her in seconds. Was he one of those guys that was a regular on Cerulean Angels website? It would explain why he was looking at her figure. Misty was getting ready to deck the guy across his face, glasses or not when his smile became much more honest. 

"Misty, you don't remember us do you? I'm Roarke, the Rock-Type gym leader here in Oreburgh." Misty stared at him blankly for a moment as Roarke turned to the man behind him. "This is my father Byron. He's the Steel-Type gym leader at Canalave City. We all met at that party a long while back in Sunyshore. When you visited with all the other Kanto Gym Leaders." 

"Is that where she's from?" The old man asked rubbing his chin. "Huh, guess my memory is going if I can't remember a pretty face like that. Gahahahaha!" His sudden laugh made her nearly jump back, though she was starting to slowly remember them. Honestly she didn't remember much of anyone from that party aside for Volkner. Well and Crasher Wake too, he was impossible to forget.

"I see..." She said looking the two of them over. "Well I guess I should have expected to run into one of you while I was passing through here huh? I mean we have all met before." She didn't really intend to talk to any of the other gym leaders besides Volkner. But there was no reason to be rude to them. Well at least not to Byron. Roarke was rubbing her the wrong way ever since he'd approached her. 

"So what are you doing in Oreburgh anyway? Oh wait you can just tell me while we head to the PokeCenter." Roarke confirmed for her as he started to lead her that direction and away from Byron. Misty tried to protest.

"Oh I don't want to interrupt your conversation, it seemed like it was an important one." Misty tried to fall back on this but Roarke just didn't take no for an answer. 

"Don't worry about it, it's not that important. We'll talk later, okay dad?" Roarke dismissed his father without a care in the world.

"Right." Byron said but he didn't sound that satisfied with the end results. Though there was little he could do as he walked back inside of the Oreburgh gym. Roarke stayed right along with Misty though as they walked further down the dirt road. 

"So what has brought you to the famous town of Oreburgh?" Roarke asked once more, Misty trying to at least be civil if not a little creeped out at how he'd practically hit on her earlier. 

"I'm um... that is..." Misty wasn't really sure how to answer. She didn't just want to come out and say she was here to see Volkner. If she did that he might tell him she'd come through and ruin the surprise. "I'm doing a tour of Sinnoh at the moment. I just wanted to get to know the region better." Okay so that wasn't the truth but at least it wasn't a complete lie. She was in fact touring Sinnoh. She just had gone about a strange way of getting to this point. "I guess I just wasn't expecting that cave when it came to traveling here." 

"Yeah I guess that can surprise some of the newcomers. But usually Oreburgh only ever see's miners and trainers coming to battle. So it's rare we get complaints." Gee, maybe you never get complaints because no one wants to go to a town that's behind a cave? "But since you are in town and you are a gym leader from another region, it would be rude of me not to take care of you. Would you like to stop for lunch?" Misty was going to decline but she hesitated. Breakfast with Duplica had been delicious but not very filling. After a long bike ride and a bunch of battles she was feeling kind of drained. Chances were she might not even be able to find a good restaurant around this place on her own.

"Well... I could use something to eat."

**********

"Guess no one's going to show up after all." Volkner said looking out the window of the Sunyshore Gym, Raichu standing next to him and looking the same way.

"Rai..." His little partner commented in agreement.

"I don't blame them. This storm is something else. Hope it breaks up by tomorrow at least." The sky was dark and there wasn't much light but the consistent pouring of rain coming down on the whole town was the real discouragement. Lighting cracked threateningly every so often but Volkner wasn't worried about a strike. He'd prepared system after system with back up generators and surge protection when he helped engineer the majority of the town's electronics. He would have let his Pokemon out in the storm to enjoy the electrical charge but the rain made it too dangerous and he didn't want to risk getting sick. "Well shall we go see what our only visitor is up to?" 

"Chu." The little critter commented and followed Volkner back inside. A storm like this meant there wouldn't be many people out today that didn't have to be. Even more so for anyone that wanted to make it to the Pokemon League. Traveling up the road to get to the arena was too risky so the league was closed until further notice to discourage anyone from trying to make the trip. That gave the Elite Four their freedom to do as they pleased today. It didn't take much deduction to figure out where Flint had gone. 

Volkner passed through the building and back towards the living quarters. Seeing as how Volkner was still on the job he didn't really have time to entertain Flint so his buddy just hung out while Volkner kept an eye on things. It was becoming more and more obvious though that was unnecessary so Volkner proceeded into his room, figuring Flint was probably using the computer. 

"Hey, what you up to?" Volkner asked casually as he entered, getting a response right away. 

"I feel so good with you inside me!" 

"..." That wasn't Flint's voice at least, which was probably the best thing possible for such an answer. When Flint did speak up it was in apology.

"Oh, sorry man." He was oddly casual considering what Volkner had just heard coming from the speakers of his computer. Flint turned down the volume but it didn't make his blond friend any more calm. 

"I left you alone back here for like twenty minutes and you're watching porn on my computer!?" Volkner wasn't the type to lose his cool often, but when he did it felt justified. 

"What?" Volkner just stared at Flint in response. "Like really, what's the problem? It's just porn man. Besides I think you'll be interested in seeing this." Volkner sighed and rubbed his forehead. Flint and Volkner had been friends since they were kids but honestly watching porn together was not an idea that sat will with him. Was that a normal thing or an abnormal thing? Do guys often watch porn together? It kinda felt like it defeated the purpose of it... okay he was getting side tracked from the shock of all this. 

"I know it's slow today but I'm not really in the mood to watch porn with you in my bedroom." It was probably the calmest way to express that feeling. "No matter how amazing it is I'd rather you just turn it off and... wait a second." The volume was muted but the sight of what was on his monitor as he came around to the desk did catch his attention. "Is that who I think it is?" 

"She look familiar to you yet?" Flint said with a smirk watching Volkner let the pieces fall into place.

"She looks just like Sabrina." No, she looked exactly like Sabrina. Now Volkner hadn't seen Sabrina in... well in any positions like that! Nor had he seen her without all of her clothing. But what she did wear gave a pretty accurate idea as to what her figure was like. So when he saw the dark haired woman on all fours who had the exact same body type as the nice lady he'd met in Kanto all Volkner could wonder was if Misty had known about this? "I never would have thought she'd agree to be in one of these kinds of videos." 

"Okay, I'll stop messing with you." Flint said laughing. "That's not her." He almost called Flint a liar on reflex. Volkner was a little thrown off balance by all of this. Honestly he didn't know whether to believe Flint or not. The person on his monitor now looked exactly like Sabrina. It sort of reminded Volkner of Flint's bullshit story about his twin brother Flaunt. 

"What like... she's using a stage name?" All of this wonder and excitement didn't get to Raichu, who hoped up on the bed and laid himself down while his trainer and friend blathered on about unimportant human things. 

"No, that is actually another woman. Check this out, I found this video while I was searching up info on your girlfriend's friends in Kanto." Volkner was now a little curious as to what Flint had actually been searching for in the first place that lead him to a porno of Sabrina. Or not Sabrina. Whatever that had been. "She's from Kanto too I think. Her name's Duplica." Flint pulled up a website that showed a pretty young woman with a green pony tail wearing some casual clothing. The picture was of her in front of a beach of some kind.

"What? There's no way that was her in that video. She doesn't look a thing like Sabrina." While this girl Duplica was pretty she didn't match Sabrina at all. She looked too short for one, and another she wasn't any where near as curvy. The hair color was completely wrong too. "Maybe if she got some kind of surgery to change her appearance, but even then she wouldn't look exactly like her." 

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong. Allow me to share with you my infinite wisdom I've gathered." Volkner raised an eyebrow.

"You're infinite wisdom on porn? That's where all your 'infinite wisdom' is concentrated at?"

"We can't choose the gifts we're given." Flint responded and Volkner rolled his eyes. Flint pulled up another sight called "Double Ditto" and it had quite a collection of pictures right away on the front page. "Take a look, here's here film list. This girl does impressions of all sorts of people." 

"Let's see... 'Whitney's Milk Tanks', 'Clair's Dragon Ride', 'Jasmine's Hard Steel Rod'... these just keep going." Volkner had to admit he was actually kind of impressed. He didn't really watch porn all that often but this girl was obviously talented if she could impersonate all those people. Then again he hadn't watched the other films, maybe she just got lucky with Sabrina's appearance and the others were awful.

"And also 'Sabrina's Mental Connect'. This lady is one heck of an actress." Flint praised with a smile and Volkner raised and eyebrow.

"Looks like she's got at least one more fan." A thought suddenly crossed Volkner's mind. "Say... do you think she's doing this with permission? I mean there's a lot of famous trainers out there. Could she really have gotten them all to agree to this?" 

"Wondering if she's done any of girls we know?" No actually, that's not where Volkner had been taking this at all. "Well she's got a new release section. We can see if there's any Sinnoh trainers."

"That's not even close to what I was talking about." Volkner said flatly but it didn't deter Flint in the least. 

"C'mon man, I didn't even get a chance to see Cynthia in a bikini when I hosted that beach party. Might as well look for the next best thing." 

"That's your big issue with all of this?" Volkner said amazed... well not really amazed. Far as he was concerned this was pretty accurate for Flint's behavior. As Flint went through the links on the website they eventually found the announcements page where Duplica had shared her upcoming information for her work. They didn't see anyone from Sinnoh listed there, but what they did find stopped them both in their tracks. 

"Oh. Um... wow. So yeah... guess she does have a new movie coming out." Flint responded awkwardly as Volkner just stared at the to be released title; "Misty's Hydro Pump" was written in pretty blue letters on the screen. "Well uh... you know she'd already imitated a bunch of Kanto girls so... I bet she wont even do a good job copying her. It'll be like it's someone else entirely. Right?" 

"..." 

"Volkner?"

"You are not buying that DVD when it comes out."


End file.
